Her Secrets
by Marvel'sWhovian
Summary: Cerys has always lived life on the sidelines. She was a quiet observer. One night she meets a mysterious man who's first words to her are "Run!" From that moment she is hooked. As time goes by she learns that she's not just ordinary. There's more to her that meets the eye and in the end, it could destroy everything. She is impossible and she has a secret that no one must know.
1. Cerys

**8 July 2015 Edited**

**Hope you like the updated version. I did change the dream because Cerys is not psychic and whatnot and I realised that it made no sense. Still, I had fun working on it. **

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_Fire raged around me, pulsing, forcing its way towards me. I barely paid it any mind. The screams of children rung in my ears. With each step, they grew louder. At any other point, it would have been paralysing but at the moment, they meant nothing. They were just the necessary casualties. Their deaths proved sent a message; no one was safe. My enemy was before me; we'd spotted each other at the same time. Weapon primed, I fired. A searing pain shot through me but I continued my assault. It needed to die. It had to. There was nothing worse in the universe. Another pang of pain from behind. My vision went black. The last thing I heard was that word, that dreaded word: Exterminate!_

I awoke in a cold sweat feeling as if I had just witnessed my demise. The image of the creatures remained clear in my mind. I knew they didn't, couldn't exist but I was still afraid. It was just something about them that seemed so familiar, that they were something I should know. Sighing, I got out of bed and went to take a bath, knowing it would erase all thoughts of the creatures and nightmare, at least that one. I had the time; I'd woken up at least an hour early and it was something that needed to be done anyway. Once the tub was filled, I got in and allowed the warm water to rush over my body, ultimately calming my nerves. All thoughts of that nightmare faded as I relishing in the feeling that came over me. The nightmare wasn't forgotten, but merely pushed to the back of my mind. Yet, the more relaxed I grew, the more those bright red eyes remained peering at me.

Hearing the blare of my alarm clock, I got out of the bath. In my relaxed state, I'd drifted off to sleep, leaving my fingers and toes pruned. Lucky enough, the bath was small enough were my feet kept me from going under. I would hate for my mum and sister to find that I'd drowned taking a bath. It would devastate them. Shaking the thought from my mind, I wrapped a fluffy blue towel around my body, I brushed my teeth and washed my face before returning to my room to get dressed for the day. After putting on jeans, a white v neck, and my leather jacket, I pulled down my mess of curly hair in an attempt to style it. Usually it was left down, with a bit of conditioner and anti-frizz added, but something told me that today was a good day to do something with it. Unfortunately, when it wouldn't cooperate, I gave up and put it in an unruly bun, only applying a bit of anti-frizz to keep it from getting too bad throughout the day. When I had finished up, I ran out of my flat and headed to work.

On the bus, I met up with my best friend and co-worker Rose. The two of us had been mates since we were younger. Her mother had taken me in at thirteen, making us practically sisters. After finishing up school though, I moved a few streets away, to have my own bit of privacy and to stop being an extra mouth for Jackie, even though the woman constantly told me that she didn't mind. While the ride wasn't too long, we spent it going on about weekend plans until our stop came up. We both wanted to take a trip out to France, knowing there was a festival going on in the Paris.

With a quick dash across the street, we entered a large department store, Henricks. Walking inside, we clocked in and went our separate ways, her to ladies ware and me to the juniors section. The day passed by slowly and ended up being extremely boring and uneventful. I had another co-worker to speak with, who was nice and all, but I mostly spent my shift silent as I did my rounds until going for my break. Luckily Rose had coordinated her schedule with mine so we took off our hour at the same time. After grabbing something to eat, met up with her boyfriend, Mickey, in Trafalgar Square, which ended up with me being quite put off by their lovey dovey crap… or maybe it was just being around Mickey that put me off. Yeah, it was the latter.

When the day finally came to an end, Rose and I headed towards the door chatting away. We really wanted to get home since she had made plans with the boyfriend and I wanted nothing more than to sleep. I hadn't gotten much in the past few weeks and it was starting to take its toll. As we reached the door, the guard waved a clear plastic bag in front of me. I groaned, unattractively might I add, and snatched the bag from the man. I honestly hated that I usually ended up bringing the lottery money to Wilson. It was as if he personally asked for me to do it.

As I turned to tell Rose to go on without me, she grabbed onto my arm and pulled me to the lift. I rolled my eyes at her in slight irritation but let her hit the button. Honestly though, I was glad she'd decided to come with me, I hated basements, and the dark. The one at Henrick's was one of the most dimly lit ones I'd encountered. The whole area reminded me of a dank black hole waiting to capture me and never let me go. I was however, pulled from my thoughts as the lift came to a stop and Rose pulled me out and led me down the corridor.

"Thanks for coming down with me. I know you had plans with Mickey."

"It's fine. Not like I barely see 'im. 'Sides, I know how much you hate coming down here."

"What were you going to do?"

"The usual."

"So, watch the game at the pub?" I questioned, not caring much how it came out. Mickey and I had a tumultuous relationship in which every interaction ended with us either arguing or insulting the other. There were various reasons behind it but it was something neither he or I told Rose. To make it simple, he encountered me on an extremely bad day and things went downhill. That was before he started dating Rose and while the anger had faded, after they began dating, I couldn't help but notice certain things about the man. He was irritating. "Why do you even keep him around?"

"I like him, Cer," Rose snapped as she folded her arms. I sighed, knowing that this topic always irritated her. It was more of the fact that she had no idea as to why Mickey and I practically hated each other. She'd asked multiple times but never received an answer. That drove her mad. "We get on well. Besides, he isn't bad."

"Of course not." 'Just clingy and monotonous.'

Rose rolled her eyes at my statement and walked off. "You never even gave him a chance." I glanced at her before turning away to knock on the door. Hearing Rose huff in annoyance, from the corner of my eye, I watched as she continued down the passage calling out for Wilson. "We've got the lottery money." We both stopped in front of Wilson's door. "You there?" There was still no answer.

"Ugh, we don't have time to hang about. They're closing the shop." I pounded on the door again. "Wilson! Oh, come on. If you don't answer this door I'm taking the money home with me," I threatened as I kicked at the door. Rose pushed me aside, knowing that I would continue to hit at the door until my knuckles were bloody and legs sore. Letting her pick up where I stopped, I stood back, although I still called out the man's name.

After a while, I decided to save my breath, and upon hearing a sound that peaked my curiosity, I walked into another room and turned on the light. I was hoping he'd at least be working on some thing in there. When I saw nothing out of the ordinary, I continued down the hallway, stopping in front of a fire door to debate whether or not I should open it. Shrugging my shoulders, I gave into my inquisitiveness and went in. The room was filled with boxes of clothing and more creepy shop dummies. While I wasn't afraid of mannequins, I hated how humanlike they appeared, at least in everything but proportions.

As I walked further into the room in search for what created the noise I heard, the door slammed shut behind me. I ran back to it and tried to pull it open; a room full of mannequins was not where I wanted to be, especially alone. "You've got to be kidding me," I muttered as I hit against the door. "Rose! Rose, open the door." I banged against it until I heard her voice on the other side.

"It won't budge, Cerys. I'm going to get security alright?"

Before I could reply, I heard a noise behind me. "Is someone mucking about?" I stupidly asked before quickly turning to face whatever made the noise. As I searched for the room, thinking it was Wilson, a male dummy's head turned on its own accord. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief, unsure if my eyes were playing tricks on me, but that quickly changed when the figure began to unsteadily approach me. "Yeah… uh, very funny. You can stop now. You've got me," I humourlessly and uneasily laughed as more began to move. "All right, I get it. Hardee har har. Whoever came up with this stupid prank's going to get a mouthful when I find 'em." I continued to back away from them as more of them came towards me. A sudden sense of déjà vu overcame me as I found myself backed against a wall. As I trembled in fear, the mannequin raised its arm as if to strike me. In an instant, I seemed to revert to the scared little girl I used to be so many years ago. Forcing myself from that mentality, I watched as it began to bring its arm down. It's movements were slightly slow and as it moved, I felt a warm hand grasp mine. A smile crept to my face thinking it was Rose but instead I found it was a middle aged man with short black hair, piercing icy blue eyes, and wearing a leather jacket.

"Run," was all he said before he pulled me through the basement and into a service lift. As the doors closed, the manikin's arm pushed between them, reaching for me, us. I let out a yelp, much to my own dismay while the man grabbed it. A few tugs in, he was able to remove it from the body and the doors shut.

"You just pulled his freaking arm off!" I stared at him in slight disbelief.

"Yep." He tossed the arm at me and I instantly caught it. I glanced at it warily for a moment before looking back at him to see his arms crossed. It seemed as if he were examining me, a notion that made me slightly uneasy. "Plastic." He stared up at the floor indicator as the elevator rose.

"Clever. Who were they, students? Is this something students are doing now?"

His eyes met mine. There was such intensity in them, so much sadness and anger that I quickly looked away. I was generally good at seeing past the masks people wore, having worn one for majority of my life, but for some reason, I didn't want to see past his. I did, a moment later, however, bring my gaze back to meet his again. With that, I found his expression to be somewhat curious although it seemed more indifferent than anything, or at least that was what he was attempting to put out. "Why would they be students?"

"Don't know. That's why I'm asking you."

"You said it," he replied. "So, why students?"

I puffed out a breath in annoyance. It was like going in circles with him. He wasn't going to answer my questions but ask his own instead. He seemed to want me to answer my own question, something I would have appreciated at any other time. However, at the moment, it annoyed me to no end and I was growing more and more impatient. Pushing the irritation aside, I decided to play along and answer his question in hopes of having mine answered in return. "To get all those people to get dressed up, they'd have to be students. It's something that students would do if given the opportunity and it's close to Halloween."

He grinned, seeming to like my answer. "That makes sense. Well done."

"Uh, thanks... I guess."

"They're not students."

"Whatever. Look, when Wilson finds them he's gonna call the police."

This time the man looked at me, confused as ever. It was like he didn't know anything, or anyone for that matter. "Who's Wilson?"

"The chief electrician."

"Wilson's dead," he said without a bat of an eye.

I nodded without actually thinking about what he said. I was quite used to death and having been surrounded by it majority of my life, the passing of another person no longer affected me much. While Wilson was one of the nicest people I'd ever met, he wasn't very important to me, not by a long shot. But, there was someone who was. "Wait, what about Rose?"

"Rose? Never met a Rose."

I suddenly began to panic. Although she had said she was going to get security, I hadn't heard anything from her since. Anything could have happened to her and I was terrified the worst had. Whatever those things were, they could have gotten to her. "She could still be in there with those things. I have to go back for her!"

"You can't. Now hold on." The man pulled something out of his jacket pocket and held it to the lift controls. "Mind your eyes."

"Who are you and what about that lot?" I asked, ignoring the strange whirring sound that came from what he was holding. There was the reflection of a blue light and then the controls sparked. The lift came to a stop and he pushed me out once the doors opened, pulling me through the corridor until he forced me out Hendrik's back door. In that time, I questioned him twice. When he didn't answer, I repeated myself. "What the hell were they?"

"They're made of plastic. Living plastic creatures. They're being controlled by a relay device on the roof, which would be a great big problem if I didn't have this," he replied matter-of-factly, pulling out a small device. "So, I'm going to go up there and blow them up, and I might die in the process, but don't worry about me. No, you go home. Go on. Go and have your lovely beans on toast." I stared at him in disgust. "Don't tell anyone about this because if you do, you'll get them killed." He then shut the door behind him, leaving me outside and dumbstruck before reopening it. "I'm the Doctor by the way. What's your name?"

"Cerys. Oh, and for the record, I don't care for beans on toast."

He smiled. "Nice to meet you, Cerys. Run for your life."

Following an order for once in my life, I ran towards the main road, a bit nervous of the shop window dummies. When before I wasn't scared of the manikins, at the moment, I was petrified of them. I was almost killed by one or two and I would do everything I could to keep away from the plastic human doppelgangers. As I watched them, I ended up bumping into someone standing in the middle of the walkway .

"Cerys!" Rose cried as she threw her arms around me. "I'm so glad you're okay. I was so worried you were stuck in there. Security made me leave. Are you all right?"

I nodded, taking her hand and pulling her along. "I'm fine. I'm fine. I promise. Mind if I stay at your place tonight?"

"Course. Don't know why you're asking. You lived there with us for years." I shrugged and threw an arm around her in aside hug. "What's that in your hand?"

I looked down at the plastic arm and shrugged. I'd completely forgotten about the thing after exiting the lift. The whole situation was weird and the fact that it didn't bother me as much as it probably should have scared me. I was taking it in stride as if it were somewhat normal and I couldn't help that it seemed the Doctor was someone who had the answers; well, he did seem to know what was going on even though he was basically clueless to everything else. Then again, I was just glad that I'd gotten out and that Rose was perfectly safe. I didn't know what I could do if she died.

As we walked away from Henrik's, a loud boom enveloped the London night. Looking up at the source, I couldn't help that my thoughts immediately went back to the Doctor. Although I knew nothing of the man, he had saved me and I hoped that he had at least made it out of the shop alive. Rose dragged me across the road, pulling me from my thoughts of the man and just nearly getting us hit by a passing cab. As she dragged me along, I noticed an old blue police box in an alley. While it was only a quick glance due to Rose breaking out into a run, I couldn't help but find it odd that it was just sitting there when police boxes were no longer in use. Shaking my head, I dashed the thoughts away and let Rose lead me home.

By the time we reached Rose's flat, we were both utterly exhausted and our breathing was laboured. We hadn't caught the bus or a cab in the end and ultimately ran home. Although I could have just went to my place, I had said I was going to stay with her and I kind of missed Jackie. She was basically my mother, having been the one I called when I was caught shoplifting when I was thirteen. She came running and treated me just the same as she did Rose. I hated the fact that I had put her through so much in my time with her and to make up for it, I usually grabbed a film, a bottle of her favourite wine, and popcorn on late nights so we could have a girls evening, whether Rose joined us or not.

Entering the house, we found the television tuned to the news and Jackie on the phone, as usual. Sighing, Rose and I went and plopped onto the settee, taking in large gulps of air. I tossed the plastic arm on the chair in the corner, wanting it to nowhere in my sight. I didn't even understand why I hadn't chucked it in the bin as we reached the estates. In suppose I was so into getting as far away from the blast that I had forgotten about the thing entirely. Again.

As Jackie walked into the room with a tray, Rose slumped deeper into the sofa. "I know. It's on the telly. It's everywhere. They're lucky to be alive. Honestly, it's aged them. Skin like an old bible." Setting it down, she handed us the steaming mugs of tea. I was glad for it and took a sip, not caring if it burnt my tongue. With a content sigh, I sat back. Jackie'd made my favourite, ginger pear white tea. For months, I used to drink just that and had even had a six month supply in my cupboard at the moment. Rose on the other hand had placed hers on the coffee table. "Walking in now you'd think I was Rose's daughter. Oh, and here's himself." She said as Mickey burst through the front door. I chuckled as she rolled her eyes at the man and went back to the kitchen. Mickey however, quickly made his way to the living room.

"I've been phoning your mobile. You could have been dead. It's on the news and everything. I can't believe that your shop went up!" He glanced at me, probably noticing my presence for the first time. "Glad you're good too, Cerys."

"Sure you are," I muttered.

"I'm all right, honestly," Rose stated as Mickey began to fuss over her. He didn't seem to realise that she wasn't someone who liked to be fawned over and it was already a few years into their relationship. It was either that or he didn't really care. "I'm fine! Don't make a fuss."

"Well, what happened?"

"I don't know!"

"What was it though? What caused it?" he pressed. I rolled my eyes at him. If there was one thing I disliked about him, it was that he never knew when to quit.

"I wasn't in the shop. I was outside. I didn't see anything. Cerys might have." Mickey looked at me expectedly for a moment before he seemed to realise that I wouldn't tell him anything even if I did know. I couldn't understand why he'd even think I'd tell him anything when we didn't get along and Rose's life wasn't in danger, at least not after she left the shop.

Before I could answer though, Jackie returned to the living area, turning her attention to Rose and me, mainly. The phone was in her hand still although she had covered the receiver with her other to mute whatever she was going to say to us. "It's Debbie on the end. She knows a man on the Mirror. Five hundred quid for an interview."

"Oh, brilliant! Give it here," Rose sighed as she snatched the phone from her mother and ended the call. While I would have gone about it a bit differently, the end result would have ultimately been the same thing. We both loved Jackie to death but this was one of those times where neither of us could but be annoyed with her. The two of us wanted nothing more than to relax and she wasn't really giving us the opportunity to do so.

"Well you girls have got to find some way of making money. Your jobs are kaput and I'm not bailing either of you out," she managed to get out before answering the ringing telephone, causing both Rose and I to groan in agitation. "Bev! They're alive. I've told them, sue for compensation. They were within seconds of death."

Rose and I groaned as the woman left the room, lips still flapping. Mickey glanced down at the table, seeing a steaming cuppa. "What're you drinking? Tea? Nah, nah, that's no good. You're in shock. You need something stronger." Mickey continued to go on as he tried to pull her off the sofa. Unfortunate for him, she was having none of that.

"I'm all right."

"Now, come on, you deserve a proper drink. We're going down to the pub, you and me. " He quickly glanced in my direction before looking back at his girlfriend. "And her if she wants. My treat, not for you Cerys. How about it?" I rolled my eyes at him. I wouldn't want the man to pay for my drinks even if I were desperate.

"Is there a match on?"

"No, I'm just thinking about you, babe."

"There's a match on, ain't there?" Rose smirked glancing at me, knowing I'd tell her if there were. I nodded, confirming what we both knew. A while back I had dated a bloke who knew the schedules for every match and through him, I'd actually grown fond of football and tonight, it was one of my favourite teams playing. While I hadn't watched any in a while, having been trying to catch as much sleep as possible, I did keep up with the scores and matches.

"That's not the point." Mickey glared at me for telling Rose about the match. She and I did that often, with her questioning her boyfriend about matches and me answering her. Most of the time I would give more of an answer than a head nod, but I was knackered and wanted nothing more than to take my medication and pass out in Rose's bed, something I was planning on doing eventually. "But… we could catch the last five minutes."

"Go on, then. I'm fine really. Cerys and I just want to stay in." Giving up, Micky sighed. "Go on, and get rid of that," she grinned, pointing to the plastic arm. Mickey gave her a quick kiss and picked it up.

"Bye, bye."

"Bye." He pretended to be strangled by the arm and then left.

"Wish it had strangled him."

"Oh, come off it Cerys. I don't know why you guys don't get along."

"I'd honestly prefer not to go into that. You're my best friend and he is unfortunately your boyfriend. I won't bad mouth him. At least not without him in the room," I replied, standing up and stretching.

"Where are you going?"

"Your room. I'm exhausted."

"Be exhausted on the sofa."

"Sorry Rose but I am not sleeping on that thing again," I chuckled before I ran into her room and jumped onto the bed. Rose followed and jumped on top of me. We ended up wrestling until Rose had decided to share her bed.

I jumped up at the sound of Rose's alarm going off noticing that I had slept on the carpet again. Getting up from the floor, I searched her closet for the bag of clothes I had left over the years. Finding something I liked, I went to take a bath.

"There's no point in getting up, girls. You've got no job to go to," Jackie yelled from her room. I smiled and closed the bathroom door. After ten minutes, I exited the tub and dried myself off. My soaked hair made it all the more difficult but I finally was able to get it enough water out to leave my top damp. After I had brushed my teeth, I went to join Jackie in the kitchen.

"Morning Jackie."

"Cerys. How'd you sleep?"

I shrugged. It wasn't the best sleep I'd gotten or worse. At least I didn't remember too much of my nightmares this time around. "It would have been alright if not for Rose kicking me off the bed."

She chortled. "Are you going to start looking for a job? I know Rose won't listen to me but you could sue for compensation."

"I don't really care much for a new job or compensation. I suppose I'm worse than Rose." That much was true. Over the years I'd saved up all my money and the flat I lived in was paid off for the next year. The most I had to spend was on food and I always ate at the Tylers'. Besides, if there was any job that I wanted, it was to work for an airline. While lacking in people skills, I'd love to be a stewardess, just to travel.

"You are! I can't get through to you girls. Maybe I should kick Rose out?"

"Then she would move in with Mickey. Would you prefer that?"

"She'll move in with you before she did with that one." I let out a laugh as I made my way to the fridge. That much was true, but her daughter would eventually move in with the man.

"Hey Jackie, would you mind making me an omelette?"

"What do I look like, your mother?"

"Well, not exactly like her but…"

"Shut it. If I'm not cooking for Rose, I'm not cooking for you. Make yourself an omelette."

"Really Ms. Tyler?"

"Don't you dare, you," she said pointing her finger at me threatening me with that look only a mother gives. I giggled and kissed her cheek before going to the door. "Oi, where are you going?"

"Home for a bit. I'll be back in a bit, probably before Rose gets up."

"Doubt it. You live on the other end."

"Jackie, I live four streets away. I'll be back in an hour." I quickly ran out the door before she could say another word. Once inside my apartment, I went for my medication. Quickly taking it, I walked around the small place trying to clear my head of the night before. I'd had another nightmare, this one different than the rest-the death of an entire planet, at least that's what I was able to grasp. Sighing, I sat on the settee and stared blankly at the wall. When it had reached a quarter after the hour, I left and returned to the Tyler flat.

"Oh, great. The butchers." I heard Rose grumbled as I walked in.

"Talking about Finches? Yeah, they're always hiring," I said, announcing myself.

"Well, it might do you good. That shop was giving you airs and graces. And' I'm not joking about compensation. You girls have had genuine shock and trauma. Arianna got two thousand quid off the council just because the old man behind the desk said she looked Greek!"

"But isn't she?" I quietly asked as I stood behind a chair in the dining room.

"I KNOW she's Greek, but that's not the point. It was a valid claim." Rose and I rolled our eyes at the woman.

"Hey, was that the cat flap?" I asked when I heard it open and close.

"Mum, you're such a liar. I told you to nail that cat flap down. We're going to get strays," Rose exclaimed getting up from the table and going to the front door.

"I did it weeks back."

"No, you thought about it."

I followed Rose to the door. "She did. The nails are on the floor," I verbalized content that Jackie had actually nailed the cat flap down. Rose and I jumped when the flap moved again, glancing at each other before I placed my hand on the doorknob. Pulling the door open, I jumped back, confused for a moment before realising that the person at the door was the Doctor.

The man stared at me, seeming to be utterly befuddled. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting."

"Well, what do you do that for?"

"Because I am. I'm only here because someone blew up my job," I growled lowly, pushing Rose behind me as she tried to inch closer. The man noticed and took a slight step back, as if to give me some indication that he meant us no harm. Unfortunate for him, I didn't buy the act. The man blew up my job for goodness sake.

"I must have got the wrong signal. You're not plastic, are you?" he went on, tapping me on my forehead. "No, bone head. Bye, then."

I grabbed his arm. "You. Inside. Right. Now." I pulled him into the flat, throwing Rose an apologetic look.

"Who is it?" Jackie asked from her room.

"It's about last night. He's part of the inquiry. Give us ten minutes," Rose told her mother; rescuing me. She looked at me, grabbing my arm and dragged me with her, wanting to know what was going on. I quickly and quietly told her about what had happened the night before. Angrily she slapped my arm. "You should have told me. Why didn't you?"

"He said it could get you killed. Look, you're my best friend. I'd rather you not die."

"Thanks but I can handle myself."

I sighed. "Never said you couldn't."

"Tell me next time."

"I don't plan on making this a habit," I laughed, hugging her. I knew she had forgave me, she always did.

"They deserve compensation," Jackie said, not noticing that he was standing in her doorway. Rose and I turned from each other and looked to where the Doctor was.

"Oh, we're talking millions."

"I'm in my dressing gown." I guess she finally realised he was leaning against the doorframe.

"Yes, you are."

"There's a strange man in my bedroom." Rose grimaced at her mother's words. Jackie was a huge flirt and for the most part, she got what she wanted. It was one thing Rose had inherited. While hearing her suggestive tone was enough to get both Rose and me ill, I was extremely curious to hear the Doctor's response.

"Yes, there is."

"Well, anything could happen."

"No," the Doctor replied flatly. Rose and I quietly giggled like little girls at the stoic answer. We both knew Jackie was probably throwing a small fit at the rejection. The woman usually got what she wanted. We quickly sobered up as the Doctor entered the living room.

"Don't mind the mess." Rose organized the coffee table in an attempt to straighten up. "Do you want coffee?"

"Might as well, thanks. Just milk." Rose nodded and walked off to the kitchen, leaving me alone with him. It was an amazing aspect of our friendship, knowing when to get out of the other's way.

"We should go to the police. Seriously. Both of us."

He seemed to ignore me, his attention on the most recent copy of Heat that was on the coffee table. "That won't last. He's gay and she's an alien." He tossed it back on the table and picked up a paperback.

"Look, I'm not blaming you or anything, even if it was a joke that went bad. It could help."

"Hmm. Sad ending," he said, still not paying attention to me. Grounding my teeth, I picked my mind for something that would catch his attention.

"They said they found a body on the news."

He picked up some mail and read the name. "Rose Tyler." He then looked at his reflection in the mirror. It was as if he was seeing himself for the first time. I watched him, partly intrigued as irritated. "Ah, it could have been worse. Look at the ears." The Doctor flicked them, his face showing a bit of disdain.

"Look, it doesn't matter. He was a nice guy."

His attention was drawn to a deck of cards. "Luck be a lady."

"Anyways, if we're going to the police, I should at least know what I should say." I watched the cards go flying in the air, wondering if he would pick them up. "I want you to explain everything."

"Maybe not." He turned towards the door when there was a noise. It sounded like the cat flap. "What's that, then? Do you have a cat?"

"Nope, no cat here," I said going into the kitchen to see what was taking Rose so long. "They used to, but now it's only strays. They come in off the estate." Rose and I returned to the living room and saw the Doctor with the plastic arm at his neck. I rolled my eyes, thinking he was playing around and Rose didn't even notice. "Ugh, I thought you told Mickey to toss that thing. You're all the same."

"Give a man a plastic hand. Anyways, we don't even know your name. Doctor, what was it?" Rose finished. Finishing each other's sentences was something that came with years of friendship. Mostly, it happened when Mickey was around, since he found it creepy. But there were times when it happened unintentionally.

I watched as he threw the plastic arm off of him. The sudden realisation that he wasn't joking around came when it stopped mid-air and latched onto my face with a vice grip, slamming me into the wall. I felt a pull on the plastic and knew that either the Doctor or Rose, or both even, were trying to keep the thing from suffocating me. A second later, I found myself falling through Jackie's coffee table, stuffed between two bodies. When it was finally removed from my face, the Doctor used a tube shaped thing and jabbed it into its palm. Rose and I watched as the fingers stop flexing, me taking in deep gulps of air.

"It's alright, I've stopped it. There you go, you see?" He threw the plastic arm at me and I caught it. "Armless," he smiled.

"Do you think?" Rose and I said together. I hit him with it, not bothering to care about how much force was put into my swing.

"Ow!"

"Good. You deserve much worse." Rolling his eyes, the Doctor got up and left the flat. Rose and I followed after him. We were both curious and quite frankly, I wanted answers. "Hold on a minute. You can't just go swanning off."

"Yes I can. Here I am. This is me, swanning off. See you."

"But that arm was moving. It tried to kill her," Rose exclaimed.

"Ten out of ten for observation."

"You can't just walk away. That's not fair. You've got to tell us what's going on."

"No, I don't."

Rose glared at him. "He doesn't." I stated. The Doctor looked at me, his face stoic but his eyes showed disbelief. I shrugged. It was true, while we both wanted answers, the man just saved me. He didn't really owe us an explanation, no matter how much we wanted him to give one.

We were a few blocks outside of the flats and Rose would not give up. "Alright then. I'll go to the police. Cerys told me everything and I'll tell everyone. You said that if she did that, people would die. So, your choice. Tell us or I'll start talking."

I groaned. "Is that supposed to sound tough?" I whispered.

"Sort of."

The Doctor humourlessly chuckled. "Doesn't work."

I walked behind Rose and the Doctor, thinking to myself. "Who are you?" It was barely audible but he heard me. He faced me, his eyes focused solely on me and it was enough to make me nervous. It felt as if he were looking through my soul, seeing everything I'd tried so hard to keep hidden. In discomfort, I reached for the sleeve of my hoodie and pulled it down until it covered my hand.

"Told you. The Doctor."

"Yeah, but Doctor what?" Rose asked, a lot more confident than me. His eyes didn't leave me though. The longer his eyes lingered, the more I wanted to curl into myself and disappear.

"Just the Doctor."

"The Doctor?"

"Hello!" He waved at us. Rose smirked and I continued to look ahead.

"Is that supposed to sound impressive?" Rose scoffed.

"Sort of."

"Come on then. You can tell us. We've seen enough." Rose put a hand on his back. "Are you the police?"

"No, I was just passing through. I'm a long way from home."

"But what have we done wrong? How come those plastic things keep coming after us, after Cerys?"

"Oh, suddenly the entire world revolves around her. Cerys was just an accident. She got in the way, that's all." I looked down at my feet, remaining quiet. Reflecting back on my life, those words have never been truer.

"It tried to kill her."

"It was after me, not her and not you. Last night, in the shop, I was there, she blundered in, almost ruining the whole thing. This morning I was tracking it down, it was tracking me down. The only reason it fixed on her is 'cos she met me."

"So what you're saying is, the entire world revolves around you?" I asked heatedly, snapping out of my trance. As uneasy as I was, the man was an utter narcissi. His statement was enough to cause me to break out of my quiet revere, even if it was momentary.

"Sort of, yeah."

"Ugh, you're so freaking full of it!"

"Sort of, yeah." Again, Rose smirked. It was nice she found she liked something about the man. I was anything but happy. I was annoyed.

"So, all this plastic stuff. Who else knows about it?" Rose asked, trying to divert the conversation from the squabble.

"No one."

"What, you're on your own?"

"Well, who else is there? I mean, you lot, all you do is eat chips, go to bed, and watch the telly, while all the time, underneath you, there's a war going on."

"Okay, start from the beginning." Rose grabbed the arm from him. "I mean, if we're going to go with the living plastic, and I don't believe that, but if we do, how do you kill it?" Rose had taken over the questioning, knowing that I probably would have gone off on him if he'd said anything else to me.

"The thing controlling it projects life into the arm. I cut off the signal, dead."

"So that's radio control?"

"Thought control." He turned to me. "You alright?"

I blinked before muttering a low "Yeah." The Doctor seemed not to believe me and began to speak. Seeing that, I quickly cut him off. "So, who's controlling it, then? There's got to be some evil mastermind behind it."

"Long story."

"But what's it all for? I mean, shop window dummies, what's that about? Is someone trying to take over Britain's shops?" Rose joked. He laughed along with her.

"No."

"No."

"It's not a price war. They want to overthrow the human race and destroy you." The Doctor turned to us. "Do you believe me?"

"No."

"But you're still listening." Rose and I stopped while the Doctor continued to walk into the street.

"Really though, Doctor. Tell us, who are you?" I said. He stopped and came back to us.

"Do you know like we were saying about the Earth revolving?" He began to walk back to us. "It's like when you were a kid. The first time they tell you the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it because everything looks like it's standing still. I can feel it." The Doctor grabbed my hand and then Rose's. "The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and the entire planet is hurtling round the sun at sixty seven thousand miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're falling through space, you, her, and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go." He dropped our hands. "That's who I am. Now, forget me, Rose Tyler and Cerys." The Doctor took the hand from Rose and waved it. "Go home." He walked across the street, leaving Rose and I in shock. I noticed the blue police box again and found it strange but said nothing. I grabbed Rose's hand and she began to pull me towards the block of flats. As we walked, there was a rush of air and a strange noise. We looked at each other before running back. The blue box was nowhere to be seen.

When we got back to Rose's I decided that I wanted to go home. Today had been stressful and I just wanted to sleep. Rose tried to convince me to go with her to Mickey's but after a while, she gave in and said she'd call me. Reaching my flat, I got my mail and tossed it on the table. Kicking off my trainers, I put my hair in a ponytail and went to my room. Throwing myself onto my bed, I fell into a dreamless sleep.


	2. Nestene Consciousness? Easy

**Edited 20/7/2015**

**I took some sentences out and added in new dialogue and whatnot. It was nice to go back and revise what I'd written... again. Hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

I awoke to my mobile going off. Groggily, although I was still technically asleep, I reached for it, knocking it onto the floor. I groaned and got up, locating the phone that had fallen under the bed, and answering before the call ended.

"Mickey and I are going to meet this man, Clive. He knows about the Doctor. Want to come?"

"Would I have to be nice to Mickey?"

"It would be nice but that's besides the point. I need you to come. Mickey thinks this guy is crazy and won't let me go alone."

I sighed. Well, at least the man had some semblance of sense. "Maybe he is but I'm in."

"Great. We'll pick you up in a bit."

"All right," I said before hanging up and tossing the phone onto my bed. Walking to the bathroom, I washed my face and took my hair down.. Because I hadn't done anything to it, it had reverted to its naturally curly state. I left it down, not really caring what anyone would think; it looked good frizzy, at least I thought it did.

Twenty minutes later, there was a knock on my front door. Putting on my leather jacket, I opened to see Rose with a smile on her face. Barely giving me a moment to lock the door, she pulled me down to Mickey's bright yellow Volkswagen Beetle. After a few minute of driving, we were at the man, Clive's, house.

"You're not coming in. He's safe. He's got a wife and kids," Rose said in an attempt to keep Mickey in the car.

Mickey scoffed and pulled off his seatbelt. "Yeah, who told you that? He did. That's exactly what an internet lunatic murderer would say." Rose and I rolled our eyes before exiting the car, leaving Mickey to himself. Walking up to the house, Rose knocked on the door. A kid answered a moment later.

"Hello, I've come to see Clive? We've been emailing."

"Her, not me," I clarified. I was really only around for protection, for the most part, and keep Mickey in the car.

The boy smiled at me before turning into the house. "Dad! It's one of your nutters! Even brought her nurse." I laughed as Rose glared at the boy. She was unable to utter a word in protest as a man on the heavier side with short brown hair arrived at the door, holding out his hand to us.

"Oh, sorry. Hello. You must be Rose and Cerys. I'm Clive, obviously." I shook his hand, all the while glaring at Rose for telling him about me. I suppose it made sense for her to tell him, however, I wanted to be all mysterious.

"You should tell him, you know, just in case," I told Rose.

Confusion crossed Clive's face at my words. While I wasn't too worried, it would be for our best interest if he knew someone knew where we were. "My boyfriend's waiting in the car, just in case you're going to kill us."

"No, good point. No murders," Clive replied before he waved to Mickey. I then heard a woman ask who was at the door. "Oh, it's something to do with the Doctor. She's been reading the website," was his quick reply before he moved from in front of the door. "Please, come through. I'm in the shed." He ushered us into the house. I smiled when the woman couldn't seem to wrap it around her head that a woman had read about the Doctor as I followed Rose and Clive.

When we got to the shed, Clive showed us around the small space. "A lot of this stuff's quite sensitive. I couldn't just send it to you. People might intercept it, if you know what I mean." Rose and I nodded. "If you dig deep enough and keep a lively mind, this Doctor keeps cropping up all over the place." Clive had pulled out a dark blue folder from a stack of papers. "Political diaries, conspiracy theories, even ghost stories. No first name, no last name, just the Doctor." Clive opened up the folder and pulled out a sheet of paper. "Always The Doctor. And the title seems to have been passed down from father to son. It appears to be an inheritance. That's your Doctor there, isn't it?" He pointed to the fuzzy internet image. Although it was poor quality, the man was painfully identifiable as the Doctor.

"Yeah," Rose replied.

"Where'd you get the image?"

"I tracked it down to the Washington public archive just last year. The online photo's enhanced, but if we look at the original," Clive suggested before pulling out a picture of Kennedy's cortege going through Dallas. The Doctor was just another face in the crowd. I looked at it disbelief. How in the world could the man be there? He'd have to be a lot older than he looked if that's the case. "November the 22nd, 1963. The assassination of President Kennedy. You see?"

"It must be his father."

"Going further back," Clive began, gathering more photos and spreading them on the work bench, "April 1912. This is a photo of the Daniels family of Southampton, and friend." "He pointed to the man that stood on the right who looked exactly like the Doctor. "This was taken the day before they were due to sail off for the New World on the Titanic, and for some unknown reason, they cancelled the trip and survived. And here we are." He turned and took a sketch from the pin board. "1883. Another Doctor. And look, the same lineage. It's identical. This one washed up on the coast of Sumatra on the very day Krakatoa exploded. The Doctor is a legend woven throughout history. When disaster comes, he's there. He brings the storm in his wake and he has one constant companion. "

"And who's that?" I inquired, sincerely curious. From all the information Clive had given us, he was either a nutter or telling the truth. After seeing the Doctor, meeting him, I was more convinced that Clive was actually onto something.

"Death." Rose and I looked at the man, not knowing what to say. "If the Doctor's back, if you've seen him, Rose and Cerys, then one thing's for certain. We're all in danger. If he's singled you out, if the Doctor is making house calls, then God Help you."

"But who is he? Who do you think he is?" Rose asked.

"I think he's the same man. I think he's immortal. I think he's an alien from another world." Clive's voice was deep and ominous as he said that, causing a shiver coursed through me. While the fact that the man could be an immortal, or an alien, or whatever, it was the fact that death seemed to follow him. The shiver wasn't one of unease either. I wanted to be with the Doctor. I wanted to truly know if death walked with him, and maybe I'd meet it. Depressing, I know, but it would be nice to see.

Rose and I glanced at each other before thanking Clive for his help. Smiling at us, he led us back to the door. With parting words of safety and thanks, we walked back over to Mickey's car. As we approached it we found Mickey sitting where we'd left him, both hands on the steering wheel and a creepy smile on his lips. "All right, he's a nutter. Off his head. Complete online conspiracy freak," Rose went on, not seeming to notice that there was something very wrong with her boyfriend. "You win! What are we going to do tonight? I fancy a pizza. What about you Cerys?"

"Um, pizza is fine," I answered, inching away from Mickey. There was something off about him and it disturbed me. Mickey wasn't much of a smiler and he definitely wasn't shiny. I couldn't understand how Rose ignored the obvious signs. Maybe she didn't really care, or she just wanted someone to listen to her go on. Whatever the reason, I really couldn't comprehend how one could be so ignorant. Still, even though I wanted to get out of the car, I stayed to make sure Rose was all right.

"Pizza! P-p-p-pizza!"

"Or Chinese."

"Pizza!" Mickey exclaimed before putting the car in gear and weaving down the road with Rose and me holding on for dear life.

While at the pizza place, Rose remained completely oblivious to the change in Mickey. His skin was shiny and he seemed to have that stupid grin stuck on his face. Hell, he almost killed us a few times with his horrendous driving, that should have been a major indicator for the woman. One thing I could give Mickey credit for was that he was a safe driver, especially with Rose in the car. The way he'd just drove, it was the complete opposite as to the Mickey we both knew. Wary of the Mickey impersonator, I sat as far as I could from him, and even that wasn't far enough for me.

"Do you think I should try the hospital? Suki said they had jobs going on in the canteen. Is that it then, dishing out chips? I could do A Levels." Rose puffed out a breath. "I don't know. It's all Jimmy Stone's fault. I only left school because of him. Look where he ended up. What do you think?" Rose questioned, stopping as she looked to me to help her decide and figure things out. I was glad for the reprieve. She could go on for days, something I both loved and hated.

Before I could reply though, Mickey spoke up. "So, where did you meet this Doctor?"

Rose cast him an annoyed glance. "I'm sorry, wasn't I talking about me for a second?"

"You were," I replied.

Mickey ignored us. "Because I reckon it started back at the shop, am I right? Was he something to do with that?" He turned to me, seeming to hopefully get an answer. It seemed that whatever copied Mickey didn't do it's research. It would have known that the two of us didn't get along and were only semi-cordial in Rose's presence.

"No."

"Come on."

"Sort of," Rose said. I glared at her. There was no way I was going to talk about the Doctor to anyone, most of all Mickey Smith, impersonator or original.

"What's was he doing there?"

"I'm not going on about it, Mickey and neither is Rose. So mind your damn business."

"You can trust me, sweetheart. Babe, sugar, babe, sugar." Mickey's voice changed octaves before it returned to normal. I wanted so badly to face-palm at Rose's lack of observation. It was honestly concerning. "You can tell me anything. Tell me about the Doctor and what he's planning, and I can help you, Rose. Because that's all I really want to do, sweetheart, babe, babe, sugar, sweetheart."

"What are you doing that for?" Rose asked, finally noticing something was wrong, thank the gods. I stood up, watching the scene unfold. Being around Mickey already had me on edge and there was no way I was going to sit there. As I stood there, someone came over and offered the two champagne. Glancing at the person, I was surprised to see the Doctor beside me. Catching my eye, the man winked, his lips quirking up a bit into a small smile.

"We didn't order any champagne. Where's the Doctor?" The Mickey impersonator must have realised I wouldn't dare say anything because he kept questioning Rose. I knew if he wore her down enough, she'd eventually tell him something, and that didn't sit right with me.I grew more concerned when he grabbed onto her hand.

"Madam, your champagne."

"It's not ours." Rose waved the Doctor off, her attention still focused on her boyfriend. "Mickey, what is it? What's wrong?"

"I need to find out how much you know. So, where is he?"

"Doesn't anybody want this champagne?"

"Look, we didn't order it," Mickey sneered, looking up at the Doctor. A grin crossed his lips when he realised the object of his questions was before him. "Ah. Gotcha." Mickey released her hand.

I watched as the Doctor smirked at him and began to vigorously shake the champagne bottle. "Don't mind me," he told the other patrons who had started to stare. "I'm just toasting the happy couple. On the house!" The Doctor released the cage around the cork and it flew into Mickey's forehead and disappeared. After a moment, he spat it out. Rose looked a bit scared as I stared in slight fascination and disgust.

"Anyway," Mickey stated as his hand turned into a chopper. Rose stood and grabbed my hand, screaming as she dragged me towards the exit while Mickey destroyed the table. Standing by the door, we watched as the Doctor grabbed onto Mickey's head and after a few good tugs, pulled it off. That was when everyone erupted into a panic.

The body flailed around a bit, destroying anything in its wake for a while before I set off the fire alarm. "Everyone out! Out now! Get out! Get out! Get out!" Rose and I yelled as we motioned them to the door. Once everyone was out the building, Rose, the Doctor, and I ran through the kitchens, Mickey's head in the Doctor's hand, leaving the body inside the restaurant.

Racing through the back door we ended up in the alley behind the restaurant. I had released Rose's hand when I noticed the blue police box. I barely paid attention to the Doctor as he did whatever it was to the door or Rose who'd blindly ran past the wooden relic. It felt so familiar, yet so foreign. However, the longer I stared at it, the more the comings of a headache grew. With Rose's screams, I turned my focus from the box and to my best friend.

"Open the gate! Use the tube thing. Come on!" Rose snapped in fear. She pulled against the padlocked gates. I could understand why her temper was so short; the Mickey impersonator, whatever it was, had made it's way to the backdoor and had started banging on it unrelentingly.

"Sonic screwdriver," he corrected, barely sparing her a glance.

"Use it!"

"Nah. Tell you what, let's go in here." He walked past me, towards the box but stopped, placing a hand on my shoulder. "You all right?"

I met his gaze, confused as to why he'd asked. It was the second time since meeting me that he had, and I couldn't help but feel as if he wanted to ask something else, something more specific. "Uh, yeah. I'm fine." He shrugged and returned to the box and opened it. The Doctor went inside, leaving us outside with the plastic Mickey still banging on the restaurant door.

"You can't hide inside a wooden box." Rose exclaimed as she ran towards it. Seeming to think better of it, she ran back to the gates and pulled on the lock some more. "It's going to get us! Doctor!" Rose tried the gate again, running back and forth between the box and the gates. Although the situation was serious, I couldn't help but be amused by her actions.

Leaving Rose to herself, I walked around the police box trying to gauge how the three of us would fit inside. When I looked inside, it seemed like a whole different world, a dimension crammed into a little blue box. Grinning, I walked in, meeting the Doctor's gaze as he smiled at me. "Smaller on the outside," I muttered much to the Doctor's amusement. As he went to speak, Rose rushed in, slamming the door behind her. After a very hasty look around and then retreated out. I heard a siren in the background as well as a door smashing. At that, she quickly entered the box.

"It's going to follow us," she stated matter-of-factly.

"The assembled hoards of Genghis Kahn couldn't get through that door, and believe me, they've tried." I smirked. Although it was quite hard to believe that an army had failed to break down a wooden door, I had a feeling he was telling the truth. The Doctor walked around the console that stood in the middle. "Now, shut up a minute." As he worked, I took the time to look around. There was a console area, with a pillar in the middle that glowed light blue. The walls were curved and bronze in colour. There were hexagonal indents in the wall, with circles in the middle of them. Wires hung from the ceiling and there were bronze support beams around the area, with a sole chair on the right side of the console. "You see, the arm was too simple, but the head's perfect. I can use it to trace the signal back to the original source." The Doctor placed wires into the plastic head as he spoke. "Right. Where do you want to start?"

"Er, the inside's bigger than the outside?" Rose said slowly.

"Yes."

"It's alien."

"Yeah."

"Are you an alien?"

"Yes. Is that all right?" he asked, looking at me as he said it.

"Yeah," Rose and I answered.

"It's called the Tardis, this thing. S. That's Time And Relative Dimension In Space." I glanced at my best friend. The look on her face told me that she had reached her breaking point. As interested as I was in the Doctor, Rose came first. In an attempt to soothe her, hugged her as she started to cry. "That's okay. Culture shock. Happens to the best of us." I glared at his insensitivity. A culture shock? This wouldn't bring her to tears.

"Not everything revolves around you, Doctor," I snapped, causing the man to glance at me.

"Did they kill him?" Rose questioned, trying her best to keep her voice steady. "Mickey? Did they kill Mickey? Is he dead?"

"Oh, I didn't think of that." I looked at my feet. I hadn't thought of him either. The man was of little significance to me, something that Rose was aware of.

"He's my boyfriend. You pulled off his head. They copied him and you didn't even think?" Knowing how Rose got when she was angry, I released my hold on her and took a few steps away from her, giving her some space. "And now you're just going to let him melt?"

"Melt?" the Doctor asked confused.

I nodded and pointed to the console. "The head's melting on the console, Doctor."

The Doctor turned back to the console. "No, no, no, no, no, no!" Seeming to be in a rush, he began to press buttons and the thing in the middle began to move, well, the rotor did. The ship also made a noise, one I wasn't quite sure it was supposed to make, but said nothing about. It wasn't my spaceship.

"What are you doing?"

"Following the signal. It's fading." The Doctor ran around the console, stopping only to press more buttons. As the box violently shook, Rose and I latched onto the beams to keep ourselves from falling. "Wait a minute, I've got it. No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Almost there. Almost there. Here we go!" The shaking stopped and the Doctor ran out of the Tardis.

"You can't go out there. It's not safe," Rose said before running after him, pulling me along with her. It was an annoying habit of hers.

Pulling my hand from Rose's, I took in my surroundings, noticing we were in Westminster, on the north bank of the Thames next to the RAF monument. I was amazed that we had actually moved, not that I really doubted the man. Sighing, the Doctor walked towards the concrete gate. "I lost the signal, I got so close."

"We've moved. Does it fly?"

"Disappears there and reappears here. You wouldn't understand," the man said dismissively.

"So basically materialization. Wouldn't it be controlled by a dematerialization circuit? It'd have to be. In order to do so. Am I right?" I asked. The Doctor's expression showed utter disbelief. I shyly smiled, not really liking that I had his full attention. My brain was filled with useless (or not so useless) information and there were times where my mouth spewed information before I could register that I'd begun speaking. It was something I was working on.

"How…"

"I took a course."

"Right, so if we're somewhere else, what about the headless thing? It's still on the loose," Rose questioned.

Thankfully, he turned away from me. "It melted with the head. Are you going to witter on all night?"

"I'll have to tell his mother." Rose looked at me before glancing at the Doctor. Seeing his confused expression, she blew up on the man, again. "Mickey, I'll have to tell his mother he's dead, and you just went and forgot him, again! You were right, you are alien."

"Look, if I did forget some kid called Mickey-"

"Yeah, he's not a kid," Rose interrupted.

The Doctor went on as if he hadn't heard her. "It's because I'm trying to save the life of every stupid ape blundering on top of this planet, alright?"

"All right!" He looked at me, waiting for my answer.

"Did I say anything?" He rolled his eyes but seemed to take my answer for what it was. Honestly, I didn't understand why he'd even question me about the things Rose was riled up about. Unlike her, I was taking things in stride, making little comments here and there, but really just observing it all.

"Yes, it is!"

"If you are an alien, why do you sound like you're from the North?" I asked trying to diffuse the tension. It was also to sate my curiosity with the man. He hadn't revealed much, even if he spent most of the time talking.

"Lots of planets have a north."

"What's a police public call box?"

I answered before the Doctor had a chance. "It's a telephone box from the 50's, Rose." He turned to face us, touching it fondly and smiling. I remembered reading about them when I was younger, during a time where I spent most of my free time with my nose in a book.

"It's a disguise," the Doctor finished. Rose and I smiled at his reaction. It was obvious that he loved his ship, even the disguise it took.

"Okay. And this, this living plastic. What's it got against us?"

"Nothing. It loves you. You've got such a good planet. Lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air, perfect." He came and stood by us, going on the entire time. "Just what the Nestene Consciousness needs. Its food stock was destroyed in the war, all its protein plants rotted, so Earth, dinner!" He explained, moving his hands as if he were eating.

"Okay, so is there any way to stop it?" I asked.

The Doctor held up a tube with blue liquid in it. "Anti-plastic."

"Anti-plastic?" Rose repeated.

"Is she always this daft?" he asked me. I looked away, not wanting to get into it, although I did let out a small chuckle. "Yes, anti-plastic. But first I've got to find it. How can you hide something that big in a city this small?" He walked off, returning to the gate.

"Hold on, hide what?"

He faced us and walked back towards the Tardis. "The transmitter. The Consciousness is controlling every single piece of plastic, so it needs a transmitter to boost the signal."

"What's it look like?"

"Like a transmitter. Round and massive, slap bang in the middle of London." I glanced at him, looking across the water at the London Eye, and then turning to face them. "A huge circular metal structure like dish, like a wheel." Rose caught my eye and we both returned our gaze to the London Eye. "Close to where we're standing." He had walked past the Tardis and stood by a metal fence. Rose and I followed, me going along with him and Rose a bit confused. "Must be completely invisible." The Doctor looked at us confused. We weren't looking at him, well I wasn't. Rose had a mocking smirk on her face. "What is it? What?" He turned and looked towards the Eye and then back at us. "What?" The Doctor finally caught on to what we were looking at. "Oh. Fantastic!" A big silly grin came upon his face as he grabbed our hands and pulled us across the Westminster Bridge. Getting to the end, we stopped, giving Rose and me time to regain our breaths. "Think about it, plastic all over the world, every artificial thing waiting to come alive. The window shop dummies, the phones, the wires, the cables."

"The breast implants," Rose and I said in unison, earning a chuckle from the man.

"Still, we've found the transmitter. The Consciousness must be somewhere underneath."

I walked away from them, really heading to the stairs to sit but I found a manhole at the bottom of the small staircase. "What about down here?" I called.

Rose and the Doctor shortly joined me, the latter looking around a bit. "Looks good to me." He removed the cover to reveal a red light. We climbed down a short ladder into a brick-built area with a lot of chains. The Doctor looked around a bit before going to the door and checking it. Going through a door, we went down another flight of stairs and found ourselves in a multi-level chamber. "The Nestene Consciousness. That's it, inside the vat. A living plastic creature."

"Well, then. Tip in your anti-plastic and let's go," Rose whispered. She was always a shoot first ask later kind of person. It was a trait that used to get her into trouble when we were kids.

"I'm not here to kill it. I've got to give it a chance." The Doctor said solidly before he walked down to a catwalk that overlooked the vat which held the alien. "I seek audience with the Nestene Consciousness under peaceful contract according to convention 15 of the Shadow Proclamation." I watched as the thing moved and made some sort of growling noise. "Thank you. If I might have permission to approach?" I couldn't help but wonder how he knew what it was saying.

I watched the Doctor, barely paying attention to my best friend. When I glanced back at her, I found her talking to Mickey, who was clinging to her waist like a child. He had survived after all; I guess they needed him to keep the copy going. The Doctor only confirmed my thought after Rose had brought it to his attention.

"You knew that and never said?" Rose asked slightly upset.

He walked towards her with me following closely behind. "Can we keep the domestics outside?" He continued to make his way down metal stairs. Rose looked at me and helped Mickey up. I glanced at her and shrugged, leaving her and the boyfriend on the platform. I had no desire to coddle the grown man, even if he had been kidnapped. "Am I addressing the Consciousness?" It moved and groaned. "Thank you. If I might observe, you infiltrated this civilization by means of warp shunt technology. So, may I suggest, with the greatest respect, that you shunt off?" I backed away slightly as a face formed in the plastic and it made more noise. The Doctor, however, didn't seem phased at all. "Oh, don't give me that. It's an invasion, plain and simple. Don't talk about constitutional rights." The plastic continued to make noise, splashing over the sides of the tub. "I am talking!" The Doctor yelled. The Nestene Consciousness quieted. "This planet is just starting. These stupid little people have only just learnt how to walk, but they're capable of so much more. I'm asking you on their behalf. Please, just go."

Rose called out to us just as I felt hands latch onto my arms. Looking back, I saw the hands belonged to shop dummies. Two grabbed onto the Doctor as well, one procuring the vial of anti-plastic from his pocket. He struggled against their hold. "That was just insurance. I wasn't going to use it. I was not attacking you. I'm here to help. I'm not your enemy. I swear, I'm not." The Doctor continued to struggle, to no avail. The Nestene Consciousness grumbled and screeched. "What do you mean?" the Doctor asked. His face contorted when a door slid open to reveal the TARDIS. "No. Oh no. Honestly no. Yes, that's my ship. That's not true. I should know, I was there. I fought in the war. It wasn't my fault." I watched the Doctor attempt to explain himself to the creature. Tears fell from my eyes as I watched his struggle. Whatever they were talking about, deeply affected him. "I couldn't save your world! I couldn't save any of them!"

"What is it doing? What's going on, minus the fact that they are holding me and you hostage and all?" I quietly asked.

"It's the Tardis! The Nestene's identified its superior technology. It's terrified. It's going into the final phase. It's starting the invasion! Get out, Rose! Just leg it now!" He yelled at her before turning to me. "I'm sorry, Cerys. I'm so sorry." I shrugged, not daring to express how scared I truly was. Although I didn't let the fear show, I knew I was shaking. It wasn't that I feared death, but more so that my choice had been taken away. I wanted to choose when my time came, not some liquid plastic alien in a bin. As streaks of electricity moved up to the ceiling, I jumped, not expecting it at all. "It's the activation signal. It's transmitting."

I noticed that the plastic was becoming more and more agitated. The Doctor was still yelling for Rose to run, struggling a bit more against the plastic dummy. Much to our dismay, the stairs had collapsed as Mickey and Rose moved to leave. The living shop dummies pushed me towards the vat, setting me next to the Doctor. Rose and Mickey ran to the Tardis and once reaching, Rose tried to open the door but it wouldn't budge. "I haven't got the key!"

"We're going to die!" Mickey cried after her. Rose started to look around, mostly looking for a way to get out. I watched her curiously as she did so.

"No!" The Doctor turned to her, an apologetic expression on his face. They stared at each other for a moment before he turned away.

Then I heard it, the voice the Doctor had been speaking to the entire time utter two words, "Time Lord." The words resonated with me in a way incomparable to none. The dam broke and tears flowed nonstop from my eyes. I clenched them shut, feeling a furious pounding on my mind. Pushing back the pain, I opened my eyes and glanced back at Rose who watched us, scared and curious. Mickey had yelled at her to leave us but it was Rose. She would never leave, at least she wouldn't leave me. She stood up and ran around the area.

I watched as she mumbled to herself before she grabbed an axe. "But I tell you what I have got. Jericho Street Junior School under 7s gymnastics team. I've got the bronze!" She hacked at the metal, grabbing the chain on the wall firmly. She ran and swung along the side of the catwalk, kicking the plastic men holding the Doctor. It wasn't enough to hurt them but the Doctor flipped the one behind him over and into the Consciousness. The one holding the anti-plastic was kicked into the vat. The Nestene Consciousness, in all its fiery glory, screeched as it began to turn blue. The creatures holding me let go and stopped moving.

"Rose! The Doctor said as he grabbed her as she swung back to us. "Are you alright Cerys? Did they hurt you?"

"I'm fine."

He opened his mouth to say something but swiftly closed it as a deep rumble sounded in the room. "Now we're in trouble." He smiled. There was a small silence before we ran to the Tardis. The pipes had started to explode as the signal was lost and relayed back to the Consciousness. Mickey hugged the poor machine for his dear life. While the Doctor didn't pay much attention, I rolled my eyes at the man. He was a coward. Mickey did nothing but get copied and huddle in a corner during the danger. When the door was unlocked, we all piled in, Mickey first. After another explosion, we were soon on our way out of the sewer. Soon the Doctor told us that it was alright to exit.

The moment we left the Tardis, Rose phoned her mother. We were on the Embankment by a row of shuttered kiosks. Glad to be above ground, I sat on one of the wooden crates that littered the area. Mickey raced out of the ship, terrified by what he had just seen. Rose hung up after a while, not getting an answer. She went over to Mickey who was hiding behind a wooden crate. I leaned against the Tardis while the Doctor stayed in the doorway.

"Fat lot of good you were." Rose ran over to Mickey, attempting to get him onto his feet.

"Nestene Consciousness? Easy." The Doctor snapped his fingers as emphasis.

"You were useless in there. You'd be dead if it wasn't for me," Rose reminded him.

"Yes, I would. Thank you." He glanced down for a moment, seeming to think of something. "Right then, I'll be off, unless, I don't know, you could come with me. This box isn't just a London hopper, you know. It goes anywhere in the universe free of charge." He smirked.

"Don't. He's an alien. He's a thing!"

I rolled my eyes. "You know Mickey, that isn't very nice. This man just saved your stupid life. Now shut it before I shut it for you." Mickey glared at me before cowering under my angry gaze. He had been on the receiving end of my anger more than once and he was well aware how bad I could get.

"He's not invited. What do you think?" He gave an opportunity for an answer. "You could stay here, fill your life with work and food and sleep, or you could go anywhere." I'd started to perk up but grew sullen at the realisation that he was asking Rose, not me. I guess it made sense, she did end up saving both of us; I was just the damsel in distress.

"Is it always this dangerous?"

"Yeah." At that Mickey wrapped himself around Rose. It was like watching a child who didn't want to let go of his mother. But he wasn't a child. Mickey Smith was a grown man and an embarrassment.

"Yeah, I can't. I've er, I've got to go find my mum and Cerys needs me. Besides, someone's got to look after this stupid lump, so..."

"What do you mean Cerys needs you? I was asking her too." I looked at him, eyes wide, and then at Rose. I wanted to go and she saw it. I walked towards her, engulfing her in a hug. There was no way I was going to give up such an opportunity and she wouldn't ask me to.

"Go on. Have the time of your life. You deserve it, Cer," she whispered, bringing tears to my eyes. I turned and walked back to the Doctor.

"One out of two isn't bad. See you around Rose Tyler." We walked into the Tardis. I sat on the lone chair and watched him move around the console, mesmerized by it all. The noise was the best part, even if it probably wasn't supposed to be. "Oh, wait. I forgot to tell her something. How could I forget?" He stopped and pressed more buttons. When the noise stopped, he went through the door. I waited for a bit and watched as he came back inside. The Doctor smiled at me as he went back to the console, waiting. I glanced at him, confused until a minute later, my best friend entered the Tardis. The smile on my face only grew with her arrival. We were off to explore the wonders of space.


	3. The End of the World

**Edited 21/7/2015 ****Hope you like it.**

* * *

Jumping up, I rushed over to her, pulling the blonde into a hug. "So glad you decided to come along, Rose."

"Like I'd let you travel with him alone. He could be a murderer or something."

"If he hadn't gone back, you would have," I replied, a grin on my face. Meeting each other's gaze, we broke out in laughter. It seemed as if neither of us could believe our luck. We were really in an alien spaceship!

Hearing our laughter, the Doctor glanced over to us. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." Winking at Rose, I moved over to the Doctor. We were both tired from the day, and was hoping to get somewhere for us to sleep. "So, listen Doctor, it's been a very long day."

"It has."

"Where are we lodging? You don't expect us to sleep on the floor now, do you?" I joked.

He chuckled a bit, turning to lean against the console, arms crossed and amusement on his face. "I have the mind to."

"Hey, I saved your life," Rose interjected. "Least you could do is give us a room."

"I think we should pop back. I seem to have acquired some faulty companions."

"Don't you dare," I muttered, causing him to laugh.

He smirked. "Rooms. Down the hall, make a left, then a right, straight again, and another left. The Tardis will sort it out."

Rolling my eyes with a smile on my face, Rose and I started to walk off, following the directions he had given. Ten minutes later, two doors seemed to appear out of nowhere. They were side by side and our names were on them. Smiling at each other, we went into Rose's room first. It was beautiful. There was a wooden canopy daybed with light pink bedspread. The walls were a light orange and there were little butterflies scattered around. The ceiling light stood in the corner of the room, growing into a lamp and illuminating the entire room. There was small table by the bed, two oval chairs with it. There was even a computer desk with pink roses. There was a walk in closet and a door that lead to the baths. Rose laughed with glee at the room. It was bigger than the one at Jackie's and it suited her perfectly. After the quick look around, we went to see my room. I was a bit nervous but excited nonetheless.

Entering the room, I let out a girlish squeal, one that usually never made its way out. In the centre of the room stood a circular canopy bed; the drapes were blue and lilac; they hung from a Tardis blue panel with lights around it. The walls seemed to shift in colour, from Tardis blue to lilac to black to green; no wall was the same colour for long. Drawings covered the walls, some that I recognized, and some that I didn't. The ceiling lights were rectangular with little silver stars hanging down. The Milky Way Galaxy covered the ceiling, shifting and moving as if it were a window to space. I walked into the closet to find that it was a bit smaller than Rose's but it didn't bother me at all. There were clothes in there that I would have bought on Earth, if I had the funds. Walking into the bathroom, I found a granite bathtub in a little nook for my toiletries. The visible side had glass instead of the stone. The tile floor around the tub was covered in white carpet. I couldn't wait to use the bathtub to be honest; mainly to use the soap that had been provided.

"Oh my god, Cer. Your room is amazing. I'm sleeping in here tonight."

"Not a chance Rosie. We'll save that for the second night, promise. I want to have it to myself tonight." She pouted, eliciting a laugh from me. "Your room is great too. The Tardis worked hard on it. You should thank her."

"Right, like she could hear me."

"I think she can. She hums and makes noise. It's like she's alive... maybe she is," I shrugged. "Thank you Tardis. I appreciate the work you put into it," I said as I patted the wall. Rose decided to humour me before taking her leave.

Alone, I walked around, exploring the little space that was mine until the Doctor got tired of us, or me. Smiling, I went into the bathroom and started the shower. Stripping down, I looked at myself in the body mirror. My black hair was a mess of frizz and curls around my shoulders. My arms were bruised from the Autons', as I learned, grip on me. It didn't bother me, I've had worse and I always did bruise easily. Shaking my head, I filled the tub and got it, letting the scalding water calm me. A half hour later, I was dressed in sweatpants and a white t-shirt. After putting my wet hair into a bun, some pieces refusing to listen fell onto the back of my neck and some framed my face, I went to find Rose. I found her in the console room with the Doctor, watching as he worked, in awe of everything. I did too, leaning on the frame, choosing not to make my presence known just yet, or at all. As I turned to head back to my room, the Tardis made a sound, causing the Doctor to face me. He smiled at me before returning to his whatever he was doing. Patting the wall, I I left the two and retreated back to my own space.

Jumping onto my bed, I revelled in how soft the mattress was; it was like sleeping on a cloud. I laid there for a while, just letting my mind wander was I watched the ceiling. After a while, I heard a knock on the door. I grunted and the door opened.

"Just wanted to say goodnight."

"Night Rose."

"Wait, one question. Why didn't you join us?"

"You know I prefer to watch. I'm fine watching."

"Maybe you should get in on the action," Rose replied before getting up. I nodded as she left the room. Getting under the comforter, I got comfortable. Within a few minutes, I was asleep.

_Don't let them take him. Don't let them take him. Please just let me keep my baby. They already took her from me. No, they took everything from me. Why can't I just keep him? He's all I have left. They're trying to break in, they're trying to take him from me. They're inside! No, please stop. One raised his hand while another removed him from my arms. As I stood to grab my baby, electricity began its course through my body._

I awoke screaming, feeling as if I were being burned alive. Tears streamed down my face as the nightmare continued to play in my head on a continuous loop. I curled into a ball, hoping to keep myself intact. It didn't help much. When I had calmed down some, I went to the bathroom and turned on the bath. When it was a quarter full, I turned off the water and got in. Submerging myself, I laid there for as long as I could after running out of air. Resurfacing, I heard my name being called. Shocked, I jumped and hit my knee against the granite tub. I hissed in pain but otherwise remained silent. I hoped whoever called me would go back to bed but I was never that lucky.

"Are you all right?" I Doctor questioned, popping his head into the bathroom. I glared at him, looking at myself, the bathtub, and then back at him. After a moment of silence, he finally got the point. "Oh, sorry. I'll just be in here." His head disappeared from the door. Once the bathroom door closed, I cursed and threw my clothes back on. After draining the water, I stormed back into my room where I found him sitting on the bed. He didn't look at me as I stood before him, my arms crossed and eyes angry.

"I was in the bathroom."

"You were."

"Don't give me that crap. Weren't you taught not to enter a woman's bathroom?" He didn't answer. "Honestly, even if this is your place, a little privacy would be nice." When he remained quiet, I sighed, going to sit beside him. "Look, I get it. You've fought in a war and have been on your own for a while, but now you have me and Rose here. You can't just go busting into rooms. Must I teach you manners?" He stared at me suspiciously. "What's with the staring? Is there something on my face?"

"How'd you know I fought in a war?"

He jumped up, menacingly glaring at me. The look in his eyes terrified me, so much so that I moved away from him. "You said so." He raised an eyebrow. "When you were talking to the Nestene Consciousness."

He took a breath and sat back down. "Where are you from?"

"New York."

"No, where are you from?"

"Earth! I am not a bloody alien if that's what you're implying," I yelled, tears welling in my eyes. The Doctor stared at me stoically for a moment before he apologized and pulled me into an awkward side hug. He released me shortly. "What was that for?"

The man deflected my question. "What was it about?" I furrowed my brows, confused by what he was asking. Seeming to notice my confusion, he clarified. "The nightmare. What was it about?"

"Nothing. It doesn't matter."

"Course it matters. What was it?" He pressed, much to my annoyance. I didn't like when others tried to get me to talk about something I obviously didn't want to discuss. "You can tell me. I'm the Doctor."

"What is that supposed to mean, that I can trust you? It was just a stupid, childish nightmare."

"I don't think it was."

"Well I don't want to talk about it."

"You won't go back to sleep, though. How long has it been since you've gotten proper sleep? Days, weeks, months? No, it's been years since you've had a full night's sleep. Am I right?" I just stared at him, not answering his question. "Let me help you."

"I don't need help. Nor do I want it," I muttered defensively. I was beginning to feel uncomfortable under his gaze. and began to twiddle his thumbs, seeming at lost for something to say. Taking pity on the man, I let out a breath of air. "You don't have to do this, you know."

"I'm aware."

"Then why are you here? Shouldn't you be doing something… I don't know… alien?"

"Felt like it. You're odd for a human."I rolled my eyes, watching as he stood. "If you need anything I'm in the console room."

"Yeah, thanks," I muttered before he left the room. When the door closed, I dove under the duvet and curled up into a ball. I didn't go back to sleep though. When I was sure the Doctor had gone off somewhere, I left the bed and snuck out of my room. I was hoping to explore a bit but at every turn, the door to my room seemed to pop up. Taking it as a hint, I retreated back to my room and crawled into bed. With nothing to do, I laid there until I heard a knock on my door a few hours later.

After greeting Rose for the morning, I let her into my room. She had decided she wanted to pick out my outfit. It my utter horror, she pulled out a short red dress. Refusing to wear the thing, she settled on skinny jeans and a navy t-shirt. Taking the clothes, I dressed and put on my combat boots and signature leather jacket. At Rose's insistence, I let my hair down. Dressed, Rose and I left my room, her going to get dressed in hers and me to the console room. The Doctor was there, messing around with some buttons he looked up and muttered a good morning as he leant against the console.

"Right then, Cerys, you tell me. Where do you want to go? Backwards or forwards in time. It's your choice. What's it going to be?" He was tossing and catching a small red ball.

I thought for a moment. Backwards would be fun, all the history to see, but the future was so tempting, and full of the unknown and I was always a curious one. "Forwards."

"How far?"

I shrugged, not expecting him to ask me that. "A hundred years?"

He turned to me, smiling. "There you go. Step outside those doors, it's the twenty second century."

A grin played across my face as I glanced at him in pure elation. "You're joking! That's amazing. Can we go further?"

"Course we can." The Doctor pushed a wheel up for a bit and pumped a piece of machinery. I watched him in awe. The ship was amazing and it was great I was able to see that it could actually travel through time. He then tuned a knob and the noise stopped. "Ten thousand years in the future. Step outside, it's the year 12005, the new Roman Empire."

"You must think you're so impressive." I teased.

He smiled at me. "I am so impressive."

"You wish."

"Right then, you asked for it. I know exactly where to go. Hold on!" he smiled before repeating the process. I grabbed onto the console as the Tardis violently shook.

When all was calm, I took a step towards the door but stopped, turning to face him. "Where are we?" He put up his arm, presenting the great unknown but not answering my question. "What's out there?" I smiled as he repeated the action.

Before I could say anything else, Rose ran out to the room wild eyed and looking quite scared. "What the hell was that?"

"We travelled into the future!" I said excitedly. I grabbed her hand and pulled her to the door. "Come on! Let's go see." Leaving the Tardis, we went down a flight of steps and watched as a shutter fell to show an orbital view of Earth. "It's beautiful. I never thought I'd ever have this kind of view." Rose didn't reply; she just looked out the window in awe.

From my peripherals, I saw the Doctor came and stood next to me, his arms folded. "You lot, you spend all your time thinking about dying, like you're going to get killed by eggs or beef or global warming, or asteroids. But you never take time to imagine the impossible, that maybe you survive. This is the year five point five slash apple slash twenty six. Five billion years in your future, and this is the day-" he glanced at his wrist watch. "Hold on." The sun flared and turned red. "This is the day the Sun expands. Welcome to the end of the world." Rose and I looked at him, her worried and me in disbelief.

"Shuttles five and six now docking. Guests are reminded that Platform One forbids the use of weapons, teleportation, and religion. Earth death is scheduled for fifteen thirty nine. Followed by drinks in the Manchester Suite," a computerized voice said as we walked down a corridor.

"So when it says guests, does it mean people?" Rose asked. I hung back, deciding to listen for a while. I wasn't really in the mood to talk as I was still processing the view I'd seen, committing it to memory. I knew that one of these days I'd end up painting that scene; I wanted something to remember my travels with the Doctor by.

"Depends on what you mean by people."

"I mean people. What do you mean?"

"Aliens."

"What are they doing on board this spaceship? What's it all for?"

"It's not really a spaceship, more like an observation desk. The great and the good are gathering to watch the planet burn." I watched as he used his sonic screwdriver on a wall panel, wondering just how much it could do and its limitations.

"What for?"

"Fun. Mind you, when I said the great and the good, what I mean is, the rich."

Rose held up a hand. "But, hold on. They did this once on Newsround Extra. The sun expanding, that takes hundreds of years."

"Millions," the Doctor corrected. "But the planet's now property of the National Trust. They've been keeping it preserved." He led us to a window and pointed to the Earth, or the things orbiting it. "See down there? Gravity satellites holding back the sun."

"The planet looks the same as ever. I thought the continents shifted and things?"

"They did, and the Trust shifted them back. That's a classic Earth. But now the money's run out, nature takes over."

"How long's it got?"

He glanced at his watch. "About half an hour and then the planet gets roasted."

"Is that why we're here? I mean, is that what you do, right? Jump in at the last minute and save the Earth?" I smirked at her question; she was so hopeful. If it was the end of the Earth then there was no way to save it, no way it could be saved. Besides, all things had to end and if there was a trust keeping the planet looking as we knew it, then the continents had long since shifted.

"I'm not saving it. Time's up."

Rose's face dropped. "But what about the people?"

"It's empty. They're all gone. No one left."

"Just us then?" Rose sighed, looking at me. As I was going to answer her, a blue man with golden slit eyes came towards us.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Oh, that's nice, thanks," I muttered, not appreciating his tone. It was only at the fact that there was a deeper undertone to my voice as I said that did I realise the Doctor had also said the same.

"But how did you get in? This is a maximum hospitality zone. The guests have disembarked. They're on their way any second now." Since he was closer, I took better account of his appearance. Besides the blue of his skin and yellow eyes, he had an oval in his forehead. His face was covered in markings that outlined his eyes and the oval thing. He seemed a bit angry, if not extremely stressed.

"That's me. I'm a guest. Look, I've got an invitation. Look. There, you see? The Doctor plus two. I'm the Doctor, this is Rose and Cerys. They're my plus two. Is that all right?" The Doctor pulled out a blank paper and showed the man. I cocked my head to the side, studying the paper, trying to figure out how it would help.

"Well, obviously. Apologies, et cetera. If you're on board, we'd better start. Enjoy." The blue alien then went over to a podium.

"The paper's slightly psychic. It shows them whatever I want them to see. Saves a lot of time," the Doctor explained to us. I don't think Rose heard as she was busy staring at the alien.

"He's blue."

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"We have in attendance the Doctor, Cerys, and Rose Tyler. Thank you. All staff to their positions." The blue man clapped and a group of smaller blue aliens moved around the room, two taking positions at the door. "Hurry, now, thank you. Quick as we can. Come along, come along." The smaller blue aliens hurried along. "And now, might I introduce the next honoured guest? Representing the Forest of Cheam, we have trees, namely, Jabe, Lute, and Coffa." A woman made of bark entered the room followed by two larger men. "There will be an exchange of gifts representing peace. If you could keep the room circulating, thank you. Next, from the solicitors Jolco and Jolco, we have the Moxx of Balhoon." Another blue alien entered. It was mostly a head and body sitting on a transport pod. "And next, from Financial Family Seven, we have the Adherents of the Repeated Meme." A group of black robed aliens entered the room as the blue alien spoke. I looked at them suspiciously, wondering what they were hiding under the robes. It was weird; while I understood that many races had their own cultures and customs, there was just something about them that made me suspicious. "The inventors of Hypo-slip Travel Systems, the brothers Hop Pyleen. Thank you." This was a group of fur clad reptiles. There were more groups called but I paid little attention to them. My focus was on the robed people. "Cal Spark Plug. Mister and Mrs Pakoo. The Ambassadors from the City State of Binding Light." I pulled my eyes away from those entering the room, as the tree people came over to us.

"The Gift of Peace." She held out a small clip of a tree. "I bring you a cutting of my Grandfather."

"Thank you," The Doctor responded taking the twig before he handed the pot to me. "Yes, gifts." He patted his pockets, searching for something he could give to her but finding nothing. "Er, I give you in return the air from my lungs." With that said, he took in a breath and released it in her face.

"How intimate."

"There's more where that came from."

"I bet there is," she smirked. I rolled my eyes at the exchange, feeling slightly annoyed for some reason. We'd just met the man and it made absolutely no sense for me to feel that way. Forcing the feeling to the side, I went back to listening to the Steward, content when the tree woman finally walked off.

"From the Silver Devastation, the sponsor of the main event, please welcome the Face of Boe." A large glass case barely made it through the doorway. It contained a giant humanoid head with straggly hair and squinting eyes. He seemed to be so extremely old, the kind of old that has seen too many battles and deaths. An overwhelming sadness enveloped me, a feeling that wasn't in the room before. I knew it had to do with the Face of Boe; there was no one else it could have emanated from. Deciding that I wanted to speak with the him, I waited until the case had taken a spot. Seeing that the Doctor was busy with the gift exchange and Rose was watching the whole thing, I managed to slip away unnoticed.

"Hello Face of Boe, I'm Cerys." The alien stared at me, as I awkwardly waved. "I'm sure this doesn't mean much, and I am in no position to ask, but why are you so sad? I could feel it the minute you walked into the room," I whispered. He looked at me sadly but there was a faint spark of familiarity, as if he knew me. Even with the familiarity, he remained silent. I could feel it, all the loss, the pain, the destruction, he'd seen in his very long life were weighing down on him. After a few moments of silence, I pat the glass, I walked back over to Rose and the Doctor. I reached just as Rose wiped something off her face.

"It spit on me. That little blue thing spat on me," she muttered under her breath. I smiled sympathetically at her, holding in the laugh that wanted to force its way out. However, my amusement quickly faded as the Adherents of the Repeated Meme approached us. I backed away slightly but said nothing. If they were bad, I didn't want to let them know that I knew. I didn't know what it was about them, maybe that I couldn't register anything with them or something, that made me want to run in the other direction.

"Ah! Adherents of the Repeated Meme. I bring you air from my lungs."

After the Doctor had breathed on them, I watched as a metal hand held out a silver ball that the Doctor promptly took. "A gift of peace in all good faith." He handed the ball to Rose.

"And last but not least, our very special guest. Ladies and gentlemen, and trees and multi-forms, consider the Earth below. In memory of this dying world, we call forth the last Human. The Lady Cassandra O'Brien Dot Delta Seventeen." We watched as a piece of skin, stretched thinly on a rectangle frame, was wheeled in my two men covered head to toe in hospital whites. Rose and I glanced at each other and then back at the piece of skin in disgust. That was the last HUMAN?!

"Oh, now, don't stare. I know, I know it's shocking, isn't it? I've had my chin completely taken away and look at the difference. Look how thin I am. Thin and dainty. I don't look a day over two thousand. Moisturize me. Moisturize me." She said to the men and one sprayed some form of liquid on her. Rose and I stared at the thing, walking around the frame, trying to see if it was a joke. It was revolting, all that she'd done to herself; who in their right mind would have that much plastic surgery? "Truly, I am the last Human. My father was a Texan, my mother was from the Arctic Desert. They were born on the Earth and were the last to be buried in its soil. I have come to honour them and say goodbye." The man on her right dabbed her eyes, wiping the fake tears that she produced. Her theatrics were all for show; the flap of skin definitely had an ulterior motive. "Oh, no tears, no tears. I'm sorry. But behold, I bring gifts. From Earth itself, the last remaining ostrich egg. Legend says it had a wingspan of fifty feet and blew fire from its nostrils. Or was that my third husband?" I grimaced at her horrible joke. From the corner of my eye, I saw the Doctor crack a small smile. "Oh, no. Oh, don't laugh. I'll get laughter lines. And here, another rarity." I didn't notice that a 50's jukebox had been brought into the room. "According to the archives, this was called an iPod. It stores classical music from humanity's greatest composers. Play on!" I choked, trying to hold back a laugh as Tainted Love by Soft Cell played. I glanced at the Doctor to find him with a stupid grin on his face as he did a stupid dance. I kind of couldn't help but smile. The man was slightly adorable.

"Refreshments will now be served. Earth Death in thirty minutes," the steward announced. I glanced over to Rose to ask if she wanted to try some of the 'refreshments' set out but saw that she was already on her way out of the room. The Doctor and I shared a worried glance before I went after her. As I left, I saw that he was speaking with the tree woman. I gritted my teeth but kept going, still not understanding why I was bothered. Sighing to myself, I left the room. My best friend needed me.

I found Rose talking to someone who had to be the same race as the steward. "No, not at all. Er, I don't know. A long way away. I just sort of hitched a lift with this man, me and my best mate. We didn't even think about it. We don't even know who he is. He's a complete stranger. I can see why she did it. She had it tough and deserves a bit of fun and she's always liked adventure. At least she seems fine with it all. Anyway, don't let me keep you. Good luck with it."

"Thank you, miss. And thank you for the permission. Not many people are that considerate."

"Okay. See you later." When Rose walked out, she ran straight into me. Her eyes widened as I smirked at her, letting the blonde know that I heard the tail end of the conversation. "Cerys, what are you doing here?"

"I deserve a bit of fun, eh? Rose, don't you think this is a good thing? We get to see the stars and all types of creatures. Yeah, we may not know a lot about him, but I trust the Doctor with my life," I admitted as we walked back to where we'd first come. "I don't know why I do, to be honest. I guess you can say it's one of my weird feelings." Reaching the room, I pulled her to sit on the steps, rambling about nothing while Rose tossed the ball around.

"Earth death in twenty five minutes."

"Oh, thanks."

"Come on Rosie, this is history. Who else from our time can say that they witnessed the end of the Earth?"

"Mum's down there, Cerys. How can you be excited about this? Our home is about to be destroyed."

"No, Jackie's a billion years in the past, perfectly safe," I replied. "Our home is 2005, not five point five slash apple slash twenty six." I smiled, proud of myself that I'd remembered the exact year. "Come on, enjoy it. You never know when he's going to drop us back."

Giving in, Rose smiled and picked up the potted plant. "Hello. My name's Rose, that's a sort of plant. We might be related. She's Cerys." Rose stopped talking, looking at me wide eyed. "Oh my god, I'm talking to a twig."

"You loon. I didn't mean to start talking to plants. What I meant was to enjoy the time now. Never know when it could end."

Rose nodded at me and then returned to the view. "It IS beautiful."

"Rose? Cerys? Are you in there?" we heard the Doctor ask from outside the room a moment or two before he entered. "Aye, aye. What do you think then?"

"It's great," I replied.

"Great. Yeah, fine. Once you get past the slightly psychic paper," Rose muttered, pressing her hands together. Her mood had soured once again. "They're just so... alien. The aliens are so alien. You look at 'em and they're alien." I rolled my eyes at her.

"Good thing I didn't take you to the Deep South." I chuckled a bit, earning an approving smile from the Doctor.

"Where are you from?" Rose abruptly inquired.

"All over the place."

"They all speak English."

"No, you just hear English. It's a gift of the Tardis." The Doctor made himself comfortable, laying on the floor and propping up a leg. "The telepathic field, gets inside your brain and translates." Interesting. I couldn't help but wonder how many languages we hadn't heard thanks to the telepathic field. It was a useful tool, but I wish I were able to hear the differences in alien languages.

"It's inside our brains?"

"Well, in a good way."

Rose looked at him, dumbfound and a bit upset. "Your machine gets inside our head." The Doctor nodded, not seeming to realise where Rose's thoughts were going. "It gets inside and it changes our mind, and you didn't even ask?"

The Doctor sat up, glancing at her. "I didn't think about it like that."

"No, you were too busy thinking up cheap shots about the Deep South. I called her name, trying to get her to think before speaking. She ignored me as she was in full on rant mode. "Who are you, then, Doctor? What are you called? What sort of alien are you?" Instead of answering her, the Doctor glanced at me for assistance.

"Rosie…"

"I'm just the Doctor."

"From what planet?"

"Well it's not as if you'll know where it is!" He chuckled humourlessly.

"Where are you from?"

"Rose!"

"Why are you defending him, Cerys?" she started, turning her anger onto me. "It got into your head too. Aren't you angry? You said you trusted him with your life but that's not true." The Doctor's attention quickly turned to me. To avoid his gaze, I blankly stared at Rose. "You don't trust anyone. You barely trust me and we've been friends for years. The only person you trust yourself so don't call my name as if it is something you don't want to know. You're curious too. The only difference is that I have the guts to say something." Rose snapped her head from me to the Doctor. So tell me Doctor, where are you from?" I glared at the blonde for a moment before moving to the window, on the other side of the room. I was irritated beyond measure and while I really wanted to give Rose a piece of my mind, I refrained, knowing that my anger would get the best of me and I would say things that were hurtful. It wasn't worth a friendship and I hoped that gazing out at the Earth would calm me a bit.

"What does it matter?"

"Tell me- us- who you are!"

"This is who I am, right here, right now, all right? All that counts is here and now, and this is me," the Doctor replied hurriedly and desperately. It was such a Rose thing to push until she got what she wanted, a trait about her that often caused tiff between us. She didn't care that some things came with time. It was so painfully obvious that the Doctor didn't want to tell us yet and I could understand, there's some things that should remain hidden. I did, however, fee l sorry for him. He had no idea how bad Rose could get when she wanted information. I was hoping she'd give it up and realise that he would tell us that in due time.

"Yeah, and I'm here because you brought me here, so just tell me," she pushed. The Doctor stood and walked to the window, irritated with the conversation, and ending it.

"Earth Death in twenty minutes. Earth Death in twenty minutes."

Rose stood, going to stand by him. "All right. As my mate Shareen says, don't argue with the designated driver." I sighed, thankful that Rose gave in. Pulling out her mobile she messed with it for a bit, moving it side to side. "Can't exactly call for a taxi. There's no signal. We're out of range. Just a bit."

"Tell you what," the Doctor started, snatching her phone. "With a little bit of jiggery pokery."

"Is that supposed to be a technical term, Doctor, jiggery pokery?" I smirked at the man as he took out the battery and replacing it with a black one shaped like an 'I'.

"Yeah, I came first in jiggery pokery. What about you?"

"No, we failed hullabaloo."

"Oh. There you go," he replied, returning the mobile to Rose. Seeing that she had service, she immediately called Jackie. While she spoke to her mother, the Doctor came by me. We both stared out the window in silence for a bit before he spoke. "You all right?"

"Why is it that you always ask me that?"

He shrugged. "Don't know. Feels like you need someone to ask you that every once in a while. About what she said…"

Not wanting to speak about it, I cut him off. There was no way I was going to tell him why I trusted him, or explain what Rose meant when she spoke about the lack of trust I had in her. Just like who he was, it was something I wanted to keep to myself. "It doesn't matter."

"'Course it does."

"But it doesn't. Rose was telling the truth but it doesn't matter. It's in the past."

"It was only a few minutes ago. How could it be in the past?"

"I prefer to move forward," I lied. "Thinking about the past brings up emotions that I don't want to experience. Besides, you're doing the exact same thing Rose just did and just like you, I don't appreciate it. So if you don't mind, I'd like to talk about something else."

"I suppose. The thing is though-"

I grit my teeth, exasperated. Why was the man so damn stubborn? Why couldn't he leave things well alone. I didn't want to speak about it! "Well isn't that why YOU won't tell us about yourself? That's why you got defensive when I spoke about you being in a war. You, Doctor, aren't the only one who would like to keep the past hidden." I moved closer to him, not wanting Rose to hear what I was going to say. "And what exactly is a Time Lord?" The Doctor grabbed my shoulders and pushed me away, glaring at me angrily. "I heard it, the Nestene Conscienceless, it called you that." I ignored his glare and the hurt that came with him pushing me away. I was giving him a piece of his own medicine. He shouldn't push, especially when Rose had just tried to force him to talk about something he didn't want to. "Is that what you are?" Seeing the pained expression on his face, I stopped and sighed. There was no need for what I was doing. Two wrongs never made a right. "No forget it, don't tell me; it's not my place to ask and you wouldn't answer me anyways," I rambled before leaving the room. As I walked off, I couldn't help but wish he had answered my questions. I was so curious about him but he was the one who had taken us on an adventure of a lifetime after all and he could always end it when he got tired of us.

* * *

**Hey, so we are currently on the second episode of 'Her Secrets' and I thought I'd introduce myself a bit. The name's Brytt and this is my first time attempting fan fiction. I'm really writing this because I have writer's block (long term) on my original story and wanted something that would help the creative juices flow a bit and I hate going days without writing. This is a Doctor/OC story so there will be romance. Something you can probably see from this chapter. Constructive criticism is always welcomed so please feel free to leave reviews. No seriously, leave reviews. I want to know your thoughts. **

**-Brytt**


	4. The Last Human

**Edited 21/8/2015**

* * *

I wandered through the observatory, not really paying much attention to the path I paved. My thoughts were on everything that had happened, before and after meeting the Doctor. A tear slipped down my cheek before I had the opportunity to wipe it away as I thought of the life I'd had prior to Rose and Jackie. Without them, I wouldn't be alive. They were the ones who'd rescued me from a lifetime of hell... although I was quite a burden on the single mother. I always used to voice that, and the woman would scold me for ever thinking it. Sure, money was tight, but Jackie'd always said she wouldn't have it any other way. Chuckling at the memory, I wipe d away the tears that had fallen, laughed at myself for being a sentimental idiot, and returned to the observation gallery.

As I tried to figure out my way back, the ship violently shook and I found myself on the floor. Groaning from the force of impact, I knew I'd end up with another bruise. The shake was enough to have me scrambling to the observation room; I knew there was something was wrong and I had to get back to Rose and the Doctor. The trip back took me about ten minutes, and that was after going the wrong way twice and being directed in the right way by the little blue aliens. When I finally reached the observation gallery, the two were there, much to my happiness. They were speaking to Jabe, the tree woman. As I walked by, the Doctor grabbed my arm, asking if I were all right.

"Fine. I suppose that wasn't a gravity pocket, eh?"

He shot me a questioning glance before answering. I didn't understand why he was so confused or worried about me. While I was used to Jackie and Rose fussing about me, having someone else do so was downright uncomfortable. "No. I know gravity pockets and they don't feel like that." He turned away from me, letting go of my arm and messed with a wall panel. "What do you think, Jabe? Listen to the engines. They've pitched up about thirty Hertz. That dodgy or what?"

The female humanoid shrugged. "It's the sound of metal. It doesn't make sense to me."

"Where's the engine room?"

"I don't know." She thought for a moment. "But the maintenance duct it just behind our guest suite, I could show you and your wife," Jabe offered, motioning to me.

"She's not my wife."

"Partner?" she turned, motioning to Rose. The tree was fishing, trying to figure out if the Doctor was available. For some odd reason, him saying I wasn't his wife hurt. I couldn't understand why I'd feel that way, especially since I didn't even know the man. I let out a breath, not believing I was actually worrying about that, especially since there was more going on on the satellite. Coming out of my reverie, I caught the alien ask if Rose and I were prostitutes. I glared at her, barely noticing that Rose was doing the same. I wanted nothing more than to slap the smug grin off her face as the Doctor replied with a negative but I was quite certain the action would land us all in more trouble.

"WHATEVER we are, it must be invisible. Do you mind?" Rose snapped, causing the female alien and the Doctor to bring their attention to us. "Tell you what, you two go and pollinate. We're going to catch up with family." She grabbed my hand and began to pull me to the flap of skin. "Quick word with Michael Jackson."

"Don't start a fight," the Doctor called out as we walked away.

"I expect you back by midnight, you," I replied, turning in Rose's grip and pointing at him threateningly. Rose shot me a glance which I quickly avoided. I didn't know why I'd said that. It just popped out before I had a chance to think about it. Shrugging, I followed Rose to Cassandra.

**"Earth Death in fifteen minutes. Earth Death in fifteen minutes."**

When we reached 'the last human', she was going on about Earth and how much she'd miss it. Standing next to her though, I didn't actually feel as though she were sincere. Honestly, I didn't even think she cared about the planet; this was all a way for her to show her face. Granted that was basically why everyone else were here too, but still, she didn't care. "Soon, the sun will blossom into a red giant, and my home will die." We walked beside her as she was rolled to the nearest window. "That's where I used to live, when I was a little boy, down there." Rose and I shared a look at her words. _A little_ _boy_? While there wasn't anything wrong with Cassandra making the change, the fact that she'd revealed something so personal was quite shocking. "Mummy and Daddy had a little house built into the side of the Los Angeles Crevice. I'd have such fun."

"What happened to everyone else? The human race, where did it go?" Rose asked her.

"They say mankind has touched every star in the sky."

"So, you're NOT the last human," I quipped.

"I'm the last pure human. The others... mingled." I glared at her in disbelief, disgusted by how repulsed she was by those who'd decided to get with other species. "Oh, they call themselves New humans and Proto-humans and Digi-humans, even 'Humanish', but you know what I call them? Mongrels."

I met Rose's gaze for a moment and she seemed to notice how irritated I was becoming with each word the trampoline spoke. Seeing how close I was to going off and ripping the 'last human' an new one, Rose piped in. "Right. And you stayed behind?"

"I kept myself pure."

"Pure, yeah, right." I snorted. Rose groaned, knowing that I no longer cared to keep my composure. "So because they decided to go out and expand, they aren't pure? Who are you to call them mongrels? I think they just moved on. With there being others out there, why would one want to stick with humans alone? Do you really want to know what I think Cassandra?" The sheet rolled her eyes. "I think you're the mongrel." I stopped for a moment, staring at the piece of skin. There was one thing I just _had_ to know. "How many operations have you had? I'd say quite a bit."

"Seven hundred and eight. Next week, it's seven hundred and nine. I'm having my blood bleached." Cassandra seemed extremely proud of the many surgeries she's had. "Is that why you wanted a word?" she questioned. "You could be flatter, Cerys. You've got a bit of a chin poking out, not to mention a bit of a bulge."

I grit my teeth, trying my best not to say anything too harsh. We were told not to start any fights, as if the Doctor knew one was inevitable. "I'd rather die."

"Honestly, it doesn't hurt."

"Seriously, I would rather die. It's better to die than live like you, a bitchy trampoline," I heatedly retorted. There was no way in hell I'd allow the flap of epidermis to make me feel bad about my body or as if I needed ANY form of surgery. I'd spent enough years hating my body and there was no way I was going back to those days.

"Oh, well. What do you know." I rolled my eyes at Cassandra's dismissive tone.

"I was-we were born on that planet, so was our mums, and so was our dads, and that makes us, officially the last humans in this room 'cos you're not human," Rose angrily started. It was nice to see her reaction to Cassandra, and hear her thoughts on the matter. She was right, in the room, Rose and I were technically the last humans, even if we came from 2005. "You've had it all nipped and tucked and flattened till there's nothing left. Anything human got chucked in the bin. You're just skin, Cassandra. Lipstick and skin."

When Rose finally paused for a breath, I began to speak. I knew I was taking the shine from her, but there were a few things I wanted to tell Cassandra, she needed to hear it. "You did all that for what, beauty? I would never say this to anyone but no amount of operations could get rid of the ugly. You're a hideous person who's going to die painfully and very much alone. Nice talking," I finished before grabbing Rose and pulling her out of the room.

As we reached the corridor, Rose and I stopped, me leaning against the wall and Rose standing off to the side, her arms folded and back to me. She was thinking, that much was obvious and I was soon to find out what was bothering her so much. I took it as my cue to listen when she sighed and faced me. "Hey, I'm going to look around a bit. I'll meet you in that room."

"What's there to look at?"

"I'm still wrapping my head around it all. I'll meet you there."

"Sure, meet you there," I replied with a small smile. It wasn't what I wanted to hear, but I took her response. Unlike her, I was willing to wait, I was patient in letting people reveal things to me. Firstly, it was none of my business nor my place to pry. If she needed time, she needed time; that was all I could really give her. As I meandered through the halls, the Adherents of the Repeated Meme approached me. The uncomfortable feeling that I had associated with them returned, and I was in no mood to be friendly. "What do you lot want?" I asked. They didn't reply, much to my irritation. Instead, two circled me while one remained out of my gaze at all times. As I turned to look at the one, something collided with my the back of my head, sending me into darkness.

I came to on the marble floor in the room I had been in what seemed like minutes ago. Lazily rubbed my eyes, not quite sure what was going on or how I'd gotten to the room. Hell, I didn't even know when I'd fallen asleep, although the painful throbbing coming from my head told me that I hadn't just_ fallen_ asleep. My eyes popped open when I heard the computer's voice say that the sun filter was descending. The deadly glare of the sun peaked into the room, its rays burning everything they landed on. Realising the danger I was in, I jumped up and ran to the door, frantically banging on it. "Let me out! Let me out! Oh my god. Please, someone let me out!"

I continued to bang on the door as the computer continued to repeat that the sun filter was descending. I didn't stop until I heard someone FINALLY respond. "Cerys?" To my surprise it was my best friend. She was not the person I'd expected but at least she was someone. "What are you doing in there?" Rose was silent for a moment before she snapped at me. "Stop messing about and open the door."

"I'm not! I've already tried opening it and it won't. Can you just get someone to open it?" The sun filter thing is coming down. I'm about to be burned alive!"

"Okay, okay. I'm going to look for the Doctor. Don't worry all right?"

Annoyed, I rolled my eyes as if she could see me. It seemed as if she took my silence for an answer. How was I not supposed to worry? If the room flooded with light, I'd be vaporised. As more rays came in, I crouched down, still pounding on the door. I couldn't help but think of how pathetic I was. Once again, I was a damsel in fucking distress. I hated it. Why did it have to be me? How soon would the Doctor get tired of it and drop me back off home? How long until he just got tired of me in general? It was probably going to have soon, I knew it would.

"Anyone in there?"

A breath I didn't know I'd been holding came out at the sound of the Doctor's voice. "Let me out!" I was quite relieved that he'd found me. It wasn't the fact that I could die at any moment, but the fact that I didn't really want to feel the pain that came with being vaporised. Still, the Doctor was there, so I probably wouldn't have much to worry about in the case of being vaporised.

"Oh, well it would be you."

"Shut up and open the bloody door!"

"Hold on. Give us two ticks." I sat there for a second, not banging on the door; just trying to control my breathing. My heart pounded erratically in my chest, causing more pain than needed and my head still ached. I wasn't sure if it was from being hit, or seeing the scorch marks on the walls. Fire had always been a touchy element for me, one that invoked a fear like no other. I didn't know why either. I knew it was dangerous, but the paralysing fear I had made it irrational. The same went with robotic voices, and I abhorred those more than anything. "You all right?" he questioned in my moments of silence. At that moment, the computer decided to remind us that the sun filter was still falling.

"Quit asking me that and get me out. I don't want to die, Doctor." I grit my teeth, realising that my statement came out weaker than I'd wanted. The man already knew I had nightmares and I didn't want him to know another weakness of mine. No, I just didn't want to APPEAR weak. I wasn't ready to go home yet.

"I was just checking." It sounded as if he wanted to say more but the computer interrupted him, informing us both that the sun filter had begun to rise again, much to my relief.

"Well check when I'm safe. Now get me out of here."

"I'm working on it." Again the computer seemed to remind me of my impending doom. However, I felt nothing but anger as the Doctor made a sarcastic comment in response to the sun filter falling as I ducked to avoid another ray of light.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"The computer's getting clever."

"Well, stop mucking about!" I banged against the door again, this time angrily. Honestly, I wished the man were in front of me so I could give him a right slap. It was like he was toying with the system and with me and I didn't like it one bit.

"I'm not mucking about. It's fighting back," he replied.

"Well, open the door will ya!" I ran from the door, back to the stairs to hide from the sun's glare. It was an attempt to keep myself safe but ended up getting burnt as I did so. I hissed in pain, but tried to keep it from reaching my voice as I spoke to the Doctor. "The lock's melted!"

**"Sun filter descending. Sun filter descending."** I groaned, looking from the door to the window. I was terrified of death, no matter how many times I had told myself I wasn't. No, I was fine with death. I just didn't want to die at this moment. That was the _only_ difference. I wanted to have a choice of when, where, and how I died and this was not how I wanted things to end. **"Sun filter rising. Sun filter rising."** I smiled a bit as it seemed to remain that way. My smile only grew when it filter was completely up. Happy I was safe for the moment, I raced back to the door.

"The whole thing's jammed. I can't open the doors. Stay there! Don't move!"

I rolled my eyes at statement as if he could see me. That was honestly the stupidest thing he'd said since I've met him. "And where the bloody hell am I supposed to go, Doctor? Ipswich?"

**"Earth Death in five minutes."** I sat by the door, waiting for someone to figure out a way to get me out. I pulled my knees to my chest, holding myself together as the computer spoke. **"Earth Death in three minutes."** I sighed, using it to calm myself down. Getting too excited would only lead to my headache growing worse and that would only make things worse. Then again, I had other 'heath problems' that could probably leave me even worse off. **"Safety systems failing. Heat levels rising. Heat rising."** I closed my eyes as the heat started to become unbearable. I concentrated on my breathing, taking deeper, slower breaths in an attempt to cool myself as sweat beaded down my back. If I ever made it back to the Tardis, the first thing I planned on doing was taking a shower. **"Earth Death in two minutes. Earth Death in two minutes. Heat levels critical."** Another breath, another minute closer to impending doom. I wish I had a glass of water; my throat was dry and I felt as if I'd lost all the moisture in my body.

**"Heat levels hazardous. Heat levels hazardous."** The window began to crack; rays of light shot into the room. I moved, trying to avoid one but was once again burned. I managed to keep myself from crying out in pain but my hand instantly cupped the area of the burn. "**Shields malfunction. Shields malfunction. Shields malfunction. Heat levels critical. Heat levels critical. Heat levels rising. Heat levels rising,"** the computer repeated. I was getting irritated with its voice. All I had to hear was how close to dying I was getting and it added to my fear, or lackthereof. "**Planet explodes in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five."** I closed my eyes, fully expecting to die. I wished so badly that I wasn't alone. I wanted Rose to at least be with me, not that I wanted her to die. **"Four, three, two."** I took in a deep breath. Relax, tension was bad. If I was going to die, I didn't want to be tense. **"One. Exoglass repair. Exoglass repair. Exoglass repair."** I opened my eyes as the cracks in the window disappeared. Standing, I walked over and stared out to where Earth used to be. All that was left were bits of rock. Sighing, I sat on the stared and looked out into space, an overwhelming sadness taking over me. I was another few minutes before the doors open.

"Doctor!" I got up and rushed over to him, pulling the man into a hug that he returned. I let go of him and met his gaze, noticing the anger in his eyes. Jabe wasn't with him, although I was quite certain she'd stayed with her people. Then again she and the Doctor had taken a shine to each other. "What happened? Where's Rose?" He didn't answer. He just walked of, leaving me to follow after him. When we reached the observation gallery, I saw Rose by the Moxx of Balhoon, or what was left of him. It was nothing but the chair now. The Doctor walked over to the other trees and said something to them while I went over to Rose. We pulled each other into hugs, expressing just how happy we were that the other had made it through virtually unscathed. She was a bit worried when she saw the blisters that littered some areas of my arms but I told her other than that, I was fine. Sighing, I moved from Rose and went over to the Doctor, grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze. "You all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, pulling from my grasp, an action that slightly hurt, although I wasn't too sure as to why. "I'm _full_ of ideas. Idea number one, teleportation through five hundred degrees needs some kind of feed. Idea number two, this feed must be hidden nearby." The Doctor walked over to where the 'ostrich egg' sat on a podium and smashed it open, revealing a small device. "Idea number three, if you're as clever as me, then a teleportation feed can be reversed." He twisted a switch waited. I stood by Rose and watched curiously as the scene unfolded.

"Oh, you should have seen their little alien faces," Cassandra said as she was beamed back into the observation gallery, her voice coming through before her body... if one could call it that. To be honest, I wasn't even surprised that she was behind it. "Oh."

"The last human," the Doctor sneered.

"So, you passed my little test. Bravo," she smirked. "This makes you eligible to join, er, the Human Club." I rolled my eyes at her. Of course she'd make up some half baked attempt to save her ass. It was pathetic and she disgusting.

"People have died, Cassandra. You murdered them," I said before the Doctor had a chance to. While a part of me knew I should really leave the talking to him, I was just so angry that I had to say something. Still, I knew the next words out of mouth her would anger me.

She rolled her blue eyes. "It depends on your definition of people, and that's enough of a technicality to keep your lawyers dizzy for centuries. Take me to court, Cerys, and watch me smile and cry and flutter..."

"And creak?" the Doctor interrupted.

"And what?"

"Creak. You're creaking." There was a smug grin on my lips as I told her. Maybe she was being served a whopping dish of karma, something I wholeheartedly believed in. As bad as it might have seemed, she definitely deserved it.

"What? Ah! I'm drying out!" The lines on her face seemed to grow deeper and her eyes and lips got smaller as they got closer. The gap between her skin and the frame, however, grew. "Oh, sweet heavens. Moisturise me, moisturise me!" Her eyes frantically darted around the room. "Where are my surgeons? My lovely boys! It's too hot!" Red splotches had begun to cover her skin, ruining the seemingly flawless complexion she had.

"You've raised the temperature."

"Have pity! Moisturise me! Oh, oh, Doctor, Cerys. I'm sorry. I'll do anything."

"Talk to him about it. I couldn't care any less about you." I turned to the Doctor and Rose, both had their eyes on me, the Doctor's impassive and Rose's in disbelief. While I wasn't usually that heartless, I wasn't going to try to persuade anyone to help Cassandra. She didn't deserve it. "I'm sorry but she doesn't deserve another chance. Everything has to go at some point." I turned and went to stand by the door, becoming an observer again.

"Help her," Rose pled.

"Cerys is right. Everything has its time and everything dies."

"I'm too young!" Cassandra bit out before she tore, leaving bits of flesh flying in various directions. I looked at her bits in disgust, brushing off a piece that had landed on my shoulder. Once it was over, the Doctor walked off, leaving Rose and me in the gallery. I was indifferent to what had just happened but Rose was shaken. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, comforting her without words. She didn't need any. This wasn't something that could easily be forgotten, but it was something he had to learn. Some decisions weren't easy.

Twenty minutes later, everyone had left the observation centre and the unit was shut down. With the ship empty, only Rose, the Doctor, and I were left. The three of us stared out at the asteroids, pieces that once made up the Earth, float by the red giant sun.

"The end of the Earth. It's gone. We were too busy saving ourselves. No one saw it go. All those years, all that history, and no one was even looking. It's just…" Rose trailed off, a distant expression on her face. From my peripherals, I saw a tear fall from her eyes.

"Sad. It's so sad. It deserved a bit of respect... a bit of recognition," I finished.

The Doctor took our hands, causing us to glance at him. "Come with me." He led us back to the Tardis, pressing buttons once we were all in and the door was closed. The flight was surprisingly smooth and when we landed, he led us outside. It was Earth on any normal day during OUR time. People were going about their lives, some happy, some angry, and some indifferent. A smile hit my face as we stood there, watching as people bustled around us. "You lot think it'll last forever, people and cars and concrete, but it won't. One day it's all gone. Even the sky." He took in a breath. "My planet's gone. It's dead. It burned like the Earth. It's just rocks and dust before its time."

I took his hand and looked up at him. "What happened?" I whispered. While I never wanted to pry, my interest was piqued, and HE had brought it up. It didn't feel so much as prying, more like trying to get him tell us a little more. Besides, I was sure Rose would have asked him that if I hadn't.

"There was a war and we lost."

"A war with who? What about your people?" Rose inquired.

"I'm a Time Lord. I'm the last of the Time Lords. They're all gone. I'm the only survivor. I'm left travelling on my own 'cos there's no one else."

"There's us."

"You've seen how dangerous it is." He looked me square in the eyes, something I thought was odd. I'd figured he'd mainly want to ask Rose, seeing as she was so much more useful to him than I was. Still, I felt a warmth in my chest at the fact that his question seemed to be geared more so to me. It made me feel special, like he truly wanted me around. "Do you want to go home?"

I rolled my eyes before hitting his arm. "Of course not, you idiot," I smiled.

"I don't know. I want," Rose stopped, smelling the air. "Oh, can you smell chips?"

"Yeah," the Doctor laughed. "Yeah."

"I want chips."

"Me too."

"Right then, before you get us back in that box, chips it is, and you can pay," Rose smiled, taking hold of his arm.

"No money," he replied sheepishly.

"What sort of date are you?" I chucked as I took his other arm. "Come on then, tightwad, chips on us. We've only got five billion years till the shops close." With that, the three of us walked to the nearest shop.

We ended up at a fish and chips shop only a block or so from the Tardis. As we sat there consuming the salty side, I barely listened as Rose and the Doctor spoke. It wasn't really much, just small talk, and about what had transpired only moments ago. Rose had asked how I ended up locked in the observation room and she told me about the Adherents of the Repeated Meme and how they were under Casandra's influence. After that, I was too caught up in my thoughts to really care if they noticed whether or not I was paying attention. If they were aware, neither mentioned it. They probably thought I was dealing with my recent near death experience.

I sighed when I realised that the two had finished off the chips and I was still slightly hungry. I looked up to see Rose giving me a worried glance. A smile crept onto my face, answering her unsaid question of whether or not I was okay. Content, she returned to the conversation she was having with the Doctor. Suddenly feeling ill, I jumped to my feet and covered my mouth with my hand. The two stopped speaking and glanced at me, worry etched in their expressions. Without sparing them another look, I raced to the back of the shop, hoping this was all in my head.

Reaching the bathroom, I was so happy that it was a personal room and vacant. It meant no one would nag me as I tried to make myself better. Ten minutes of deep breathing and sick later, there was a knock on the door. My breathing was laborious as I tried to keep myself from fainting. My stomach had been completely emptied, and the headache I'd had, which I thought disappeared, returned with a vengeance. The pain just about debilitated me; there was no way I'd be able to leave the room without help.

"Are you all right, Cerys?" I grunted, unable to say anything. "Let me in." I groaned, using the sink to support myself. My legs felt like jelly, and my vision was covered in black and white speck. I knew it was only a matter of time before I fainted. I cursed myself for leaving my medication home but then again, how was I supposed to know I'd end up travelling the universe with a my best friend and a Time Lord? It wasn't as if I planned to be whisked away.

Hearing the door jingle, I began to inch my way towards the locked door. Just as I actually made it, I heard the sonic screwdriver go off and the click of the door's lock. I rolled my eyes at how impatient they were, mainly Rose who I was sure kicked up a fuss to get the Doctor's help. Knowing the two would be inside the room shortly, I let myself sink to the floor. As they walked in, I managed to give a small, pained smile as I felt myself plummeting into unconsciousness. It was only a matter of seconds before my vision had turned completely black.

* * *

_Hey, so we've reached the conclusion of this episode. Cerys definitely had a part in Cassandra's death. I hope her dislike for the woman was realistic and made sense. Cerys does share my views on certain topics, such as bullying and thinking less of others. It's something she can relate too so of course she'd be against it (that's something for a later chapter though). _

_Now, why did our lovely protagonist faint? Any ideas? Feel free to leave a review. I'd love to hear your opinions. It'll make my day AND, **constructive** criticism will definitely help make the story better. _


	5. Cupcakes, Memories, and the Unquiet Dead

**Edited 10/9/2015**

**It definitely took longer than I thought to edit this. I'm going to try and do the other half of the chapter and have it updated by tonight. Fingers crossed. I might be going out of popcorn, not good for my writing environment. But I'll get past that to edit. Hopefully you like how I'm respinning Cerys. I've been reading A LOT of Sherlock lately and it might be influencing certain aspects of her personality. She's still the same though, so no worries. Still, let me know in a review or PM.**

* * *

_"No, please stop. I didn't mean to overcook it. Please, Uncle Randy!" I thrashed and kicked, trying to get out of his grip. I was twelve again, living in America with the only living relative I had. He was a brute of a man, inflicting pain for his own pleasure. I was usually his punching bag, receiving the blows on a daily basis._

_"You think you can come into my house and burn my food? Do you think I have money to waste! You stupid little slut. You're just like your mother, a good for nothing waste of space." A slap to the face followed the verbal abuse. The force of the impact caused me to stumble a bit. Regaining my balance, I remained there, my head down as I kept myself from crying. A punch to the stomach for not showing emotion; that's what he wanted. He wanted to see me squirm and cry and beg for mercy that would never come. He continued to hit me, screaming and cursing as he finally got me on the floor. After a few minutes of punching and kicking me he stopped, at least I thought he did. A minute later, his boot covered foot collided with my face, sending me into darkness._

I woke with a start, my breathing ragged and heart pounding. It had been a while since my last nightmare of my uncle. Sitting up, I wiped away the sweat and tears that covered my face and glanced around, shocked to find myself in my room on the Tardis. The last thing I remembered were Rose and the Doctor talking at the fish and chips shop. Sighing, I dragged myself out of the bed, fighting the fact my legs gave out from under me. That was enough for me to realise that something had happened between the shop and the Tardis. When I had gotten over that hurdle, I went to take a bath. It had grown into a habit a few years ago; nightmares would wake me and I take a bath to cleanse myself of them. I needed it for my sanity. If not, I'd probably end up in the hospital, or worse...

Rose and the Doctor were talking in the console room when I finally finished up in my room Their conversation came to halt when they noticed I had joined them. I glanced at them confused before squeaking as suddenly Rose ran over to me, engulfing me in one of her bone crushing hugs. When she released me, I went over to the control unit, my brows furrowed as I looked between the two. Obviously something had happened at the chips shop, it was a matter of finding out what. Deciding to randomly bring it up, I smiled at the Doctor. "So, where to now?"

The look he gave Rose wasn't missed to me but I chose to let it be. If it had something to do with me, which I was sure it did, I knew Rose would bring it up eventually. Moving his gaze to me, the Doctor shrugged, his expression cautious. "Anywhere you'd like."

"I don't think we should do anything for a bit. Cerys needs to rest."

I raised an eyebrow at her comment. Whatever happened, it wasn't affecting me any-more. I felt fine and to be honest, I was ready to go on another adventure. "What are you talking about Rose? I'm perfectly fine."

Rose rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "No, you aren't. You fainted at the chips shop. Stop arguing with me because you're not fine."

I evenly met her glare, folding my own arms across my chest. There was no way I was going to let her make that into a big deal. Fainting came with the territory, especially when a migraine came on. The fact that she was treating me like a child and telling me how I felt only fuelled the irritation I was feeling towards her. "I am! Stop treating me like I'm fragile."

"Sorry if I'm worried about you," Rose retorted. Anger and irritation rolled off her in waves. The two of us in foul moods would not be a good mix but she didn't seem to care if she pushed, nor if I ended up pushing back to the point we both said things we regretted later on. I watched her share a quick glance with the Doctor before she grabbed my arm and pulled me down the hall, out of his hearing range. "How long has it been going on?"

"What are you talking about?" My voice came out clipped as I tried my hardest to keep from saying something completely idiotic.

Rose looked at me as if I were a moron, an expression she often gave me when she knew I didn't want to answer a question but knew exactly what she was asking about. "The nightmares, Cerys! How long?"

"It doesn't matter."

"How long?"

Giving up my calm composure, I pushed her against the wall, a sneer on my face. "Why do you care?"

"You're my best friend," Rose replied, taking the push without a word. It seemed to finally register just how aggravated I was. I never physically harmed her so for me to lash out like that, it was an obvious sign that something was very wrong. Slowly, she pushed herself off the wall and moved towards my shaking form. "So tell me, how long have you been having them? For a while, right?"

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter, Rose. They don't bother me."

"You're lying. When I went to check on you earlier, you were crying and mumbling in your sleep. You were dreaming about what happened when you were a kid, weren't you? That's the only time you do the mumbling."

"Why does it matter, Rose? It's in the past. I not like I can change it. Just leave it be."

"I can't when it still bothers you. Cerys, you haven't let go of it."

"How can I?" I snapped, fed up with it all. "That monster ruined my life. Nothing we ever dealt with could compare to what I went through with him. I was a child and he used his size and authority to take advantage of me. It's not something one just let go of, Rose."

"I get that but you still haven't answered the question. How long?"

Taking in a breath, I gave in and slid to the floor, leaning against the wall for support. "Months," I finally admitted. "It's not always about him or that life. Sometimes it's about things that don't make sense, things that you'd only see with the Doctor around. I-I can't really explain it."

"All right then." Rose took a cautious step towards me, an action that caused me to cringe. I couldn't believe that I'd pushed her. Sighing, I wrapped my arms around my knees. "Do you really feel better, though?"

"Yeah, never been better."

"Liar." I raised an eyebrow at her but remained silent. It was no use lying if she already knew I was. "Since you aren't going to answer that, what happened at the shop?"

I shrugged. "Don't know. Haven't taken my meds in a while. It could have been because of that." Honestly, didn't know what had caused me to pass out. The most that happened those rare times I neglected to take it was a splitting headache and maybe a bit of sick. It didn't make sense but I tried not to let Rose know that I was worried. If she knew, she'd make a scene and bring in the Doctor, something I definitely didn't want.

"Maybe we could pop back home and grab it? I'm sure the Doctor shouldn't mind."

"It's fine Rosie. I don't really need it yet. Come on, let's go back to the console room." She gave me a sceptical glance before relenting. I was glad she didn't push this time; I wasn't in the best mood to deal with it and I was slightly afraid I'd end up getting violent again. That was one thing I truly didn't want to happen.

When we got back to the console room, the Doctor's back was to us as he fiddled with odds and ends on its surface. Rose and I watched as he glanced at something on a screen, which he quickly shut off when our presence was noticed.

"Everything all right?"

"Yep. Nothing to worry your head about."

I raised an eyebrow, curious as to what he had been looking at. I was always a curious little bugger and his hasty actions did nothing but pique my interest. "So, where are we off to?"

"Nowhere. Tardis needs a rest. One night in space should do it."

"So we're just going to stay here, floating around?" Rose questioned, managing to lace disappointment in her voice although there was a smile on her lips. Of course she'd be happy about that. As usual, she was getting her way.

"It's only a few hours. You humans need sleep. Off you go then."

"I _just_ woke up."

"Go back to sleep, then. You won't miss anything important," he replied, waving us off. Rolling my eyes at the alien, I followed Rose through the corridors until we reached to our rooms. After wishing each other goodnight, we entered our respective rooms.

I laid in the bed staring at the ceiling. Sleep wouldn't come over me no matter how much I tried to force it. Sitting up, I decided that since I wasn't tired I would explore the Tardis some. Getting out of bed, I pulled on an oversized sweater and boots; as comfortable as the ship was, I'd always roamed around in those articles of clothing. I crept out of the room, and bumped into Rose. After the initial shock, we shared a conspiratory smile and the two of us went off in different directions.

Hoping to be as stealthy as possible, I decided to make my way to the front of the Tardis. Instead of the console room though, I found myself in a library. It was huge and circular with books covering the walls from floor to ceiling and the bookcases made of darkened wood, sturdy and beautiful. A rolling ladder stood by the door, inviting me to climb it and discover the secrets hidden within its bound inhabitants. With curiosity getting the best of me, I looked around, glancing at books that looked like good reads. After gathering about seven, I made myself comfortable before the fire, opting for the floor instead of the ottoman. Opening the first book, I saw that it had information about the different planets and their native peoples. It was interesting, and I soaked in all that I could. When I had finished it, I reached for a smaller book titled _Gulliver's Travels_ by Johnathan Swift. As I made my way through the book, the doors to the opened and the Doctor walked in.

"I thought I told you to go to sleep."

"I've slept enough," I replied as I rolled my eyes at him.

"You barely get sleep as it is." I could almost hear the worry in his voice as he spoke, something that caught me a bit off guard. It wasn't something I expected from the alien, especially since he barely knew me, the REAL me.

"I don't need much of it. What about you, Doctor? When do you sleep?"

"I don't need it." His lips curled into a half smile. To be honest, it was quite fitting for him, at least I thought so. Feeling generous, I returned the smile. "What are you reading?"

_"Gulliver's Travels_, Johnathan Swift. I read it once, a long time ago, I think."

"You think?"

I pushed a rebellious strand of hair from my face before nodding. "Things are a bit fuzzy." I watched as he raised an eyebrow, as if to question me. Giving in, I answered his unanswered inquiry. "I remember information, not where I read or heard it."

The Doctor nodded and let it drop, at least for that moment. I was beginning to dread the moments when he was silent. It meant that he was trying to figure something out and I felt incredibly uncomfortable being the puzzle. "So, tell me, Cerys. Why can't you sleep?"

"I just can't," I easily lied. I really didn't want to discuss the real reason for my sleepless nights. My nightmares were never up for discussion, no matter how much they fucked me up. "I've always had problems staying asleep. It's just how things are." I tugged absent-mindedly on the bracelet that hung tightly on my wrist. He was going to ask about the nightmares, I felt it. The sole things I refused to discuss.

"What about the nightmares you've been having?"

Wanting to play it off, I decided to attempt the clueless route, even though I knew it wouldn't work. The Doctor had witnessed me post nightmare already so it wasn't as if he would take my denial, or let the subject drop like I wanted. "What nightmares?"

Catching what I had tried to do the Doctor crossed his arms and glared at me. His expression wasn't one that had me troubled really. It was more sceptical and knowing. "The ones you've been having since your first night on the Tardis. A few nights ago you woke up screaming, if I remember correctly."

"Do you honestly think I was having those because of the Tardis?"

"Culture shock. It could be your way of coping with knowing what's out there."

"No, this," I waved my hands around the room. It was quite obvious that I meant being on the Tardis though, especially since it was the secondary subject of our conversation, "is not something that I needed to cope with. I wanted to come along. My nightmares stem from something much worse than that, something that I DON'T want to talk about."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to."

"I can help."

I sighed. "Doctor…" He quieted me, placing a hand on my lap in a comforting gesture. Taking in a deep breath, I abruptly stood, placing the book atop the stack I'd made. "You know, I would never ask you to tell me something you didn't want to share. I had hoped you'd extend the same consideration but I guess I was wrong. But just as you won't bare your soul to me, I think I'm allowed the same courtesy." As I finished up, the Doctor at least had the decency to look ashamed. With a curt goodnight, I left the library and returned to my room.

I sat on my bed, thinking about whatever I could focus on. I wanted to write, or draw, or do something creative but there was nothing around me. Honestly though, I was more upset with the Doctor trying to pry into my most personal thoughts. Sure, he might have trying to be helpful, but he was doing nothing but digging a hole for himself. While he was showing me the universe, I wasn't too comfortable with him in the sense that I'd share my life story with him. Though, I wouldn't deny that I was a bit frightful that he'd use the Tardis to look into my past, I hoped he was a better person than that.

Trying to force those thoughts from my mind, I laid down, trying desperately to succumb to unconsciousness. As hard as I tried, sleep was something I wouldn't accomplish, not after the incessant nightmares. Taking in a deep breath, I left the room again, this time in search for the kitchen. After a few minutes of wandering around, I found it. The kitchen was medium sized and quaint, homey even. As I looked through the cabinets and fridge for something to make, preferably pastries, all the ingredients I needed for my famous chocolate cheesecake cupcakes seemed to appear, as if the ship knew exactly what I needed. With a quick thanks, I got to work.

As my favourite music floated throughout the room, I swayed along as I stirred all the ingredients together. Baking was always a stress reliever for me, and it was probably the first time I've truly been without worry in a long time. Once the batter was together, I evenly distributed it in two cupcake pans that I conveniently found on a nearby counter. Thanking the Tardis again, I pushed the pans into the oven and set a timer to go off after forty minutes. Not knowing what to do next, and deciding that I didn't want to return to the library, I settled down at the table.

Taking a breath, I was shocked to find Gulliver's Travels in front of me. Happily, I recovered my place and read until the timer went off. When it did, I jumped up and pulled the two pans out to gaze upon my handy work. Without waiting for it to cool, I broke a piece off and popped it into my mouth. I burned my tongue but it was ultimately worth it. The cupcakes came out delicious, soft, moist and unable to be denied by the devil itself. I gathered up two on a plate, finishing the one I had touched. Walking to Rose's room, I knocked before entering, not bothering to wait for an answer. As I had thought, she was asleep. Knowing it would wake her, I waved the treat in front of her face. In an instant, she was up and her eyes glued on the gooey morsel.

"Gimme." I handed one to her, watching with delight as she devoured it. "This is delicious. You never bake at home; mum would love these."

"I used to make them, remember? Chocolate cheesecake cupcakes." Her eyes widened in realisation. "I stopped after that hospital visit two years ago. Good though?"

She nodded. "Amazing! Aren't you going to eat that?"

"I ate my piece. This one's for the Doctor." If I were honest with myself, I didn't really want to be around him after the stunt he tried to pull. However, I really wanted him to taste the cupcake. What could I say, I was fishing for compliments and this was something I knew would receive one. "Everyone needs a piece of this in their life," I smiled getting up to leave. "Hurry up and get ready. It's time for another adventure. Your pick this time." Rose nodded and jumped out of bed as I closed the door.

When I reached the console room, I found the Doctor pacing. It worried me a bit but I truly hoped that my words had gotten through to him; what he had done had been wrong. As I approached him, his pacing ceased and his eyes met mine before moving to the cupcake. He shook his head, an action that caused me to frown as I didn't appreciate that he'd turned down something without at least trying it. "Come on, it's chocolate. EVERYONE likes chocolate." Again he shook his head. "I put all the happiness in the world in this cupcake and you are going to at least taste it." He gave me a sceptical look but made no move towards me, or the pastry. "Think of it as a way to get back in my good graces," I whispered loud enough for him to hear. With a heavy and exaggerated sigh, the Doctor finally walked over and picked it up. Taking a bite, his eyes lit up a bit and I smirked triumphantly. "Told you it was good."

"Cheesecake and chocolate, in a cupcake? It's fantastic."

"Thank you. Back on my planet, my family loved my baking."

"Your planet?"

I furrowed my brows, confused as to why he'd bring up a planet when we were talking about my cupcakes. "Huh? What about a planet?"

"You said 'on your planet'."

"Did I? That's weird. I don't know why I said that," I muttered, truly shocked that I'd said something of that nature. The Doctor's eyes scanned met my eyes for a moment and it almost seemed as if he wanted to say something but instead, he quickly put the rest of the cake in his mouth, savouring each bite. "I'm glad you liked it. There are more in the kitchen." He nodded, about to say something when Rose entered the room. "Great, you're finally here. Tell him where you want to go," I hastily said, hoping to remove his attention from me. The Doctor rolled his eyes at my demeanour before returning to the console.

"Well, we've seen the future, so I think the past sounds good."

"Great." He started to press buttons, leaving the Tardis to start a very rough flight. After a few moments, he rushed to another area of the console, opposite Rose and me, to work some controls. "Hold that down!" he yelled to Rose as he messed with other buttons.

"I'm holding this one down," she replied nodding her head towards the button she was already straining to hold down.

"Well, hold them both down."

"It's not going to work." I rolled my eyes as Rose tried unsuccessfully to stretch herself across the half of the console to get to the other button. Instead of her straining herself, I went and held down the button he had motioned to, slightly peeved that I'd been overlooked.

"Oi! I promised you a time machine and that's what you're getting." Seeming content with our silence, he continued on. "Now, you've seen the future, let's have a look at the past. 1860. How does 1860 sound?" We were all holding onto the console, trying to keep from falling.

I shrugged, not really caring since it was Rose's turn to choose. It was really whether she liked the idea, although I was sure the Doctor might have just brought us there if she did against it; he seemed the type. Rose, while not protesting the idea, seemed quite confused as to why the Doctor had offered that year. "What happened in 1860?"

"I don't know, let's find out. Hold on, here we go!" He said excitedly, pulling down a lever. I shook my head at the man, amused by his antics. Before I could say the witty remark on the tip of my tongue, the three of us found ourselves on the floor, due to a rough landing.

"Blimey!"

"You're telling me. Are you two all right?"

"Yeah, I think so," she looked at me, hoping for confirmation, which I gave with a curt nod. Standing, she patted herself down. "Nothing broken. Did we make it? Where are we?"

"I did it. Give the man a medal."

"How about not. You almost killed us, parking might I add," I half-heartedly sassed. I wasn't too put out by the landing, I'd been through much worse, and I was sure the Doctor had landed his ship more violently than he had.

He went on, not giving much thought to my comment. "Earth, Naples, December 24, 1860," he crossed his arms, contently staring at the screen, a smug grin on his lips. Rose and I did the same although we were more amazed than anything. It wasn't every day we could go back and see a Christmas past.

"That's so weird. It's Christmas."

"All yours." His arm swung out, presenting the door before he crossed them again.

"But, it's like... think about it though..." I smiled as she attempted to get her thoughts together, and form a proper sentence. "Christmas. 1860. Happens once, just once and it's gone, it's finished, it'll never happen again. Except for you. You can go back and see days that are dead and gone and a hundred thousand sunsets ago. No wonder you never stay still."

"Not a bad life."

"Better with three. Come on, then," she replied with a smile before she ran to the door, pulling me with her.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?"

"1860," I deadpanned.

"Go out there dressed like that and you'll start a riot, Barbarella." Rose and I looked down at our clothes, Rose in jeans, a grey shirt, and a purple jacket, and me in an oversized sweater, jeans, and boots. I suppose I could see his point; the pair of us would look incredibly out of place walking out in our attire. "There's a wardrobe through there." He pointed through the arch and down the corridor. "First left, second right, third on the left, go straight ahead, under the stairs. Pass the bins, fifth door on your left. Hurry up!" Rose and I nodded and left in search of the wardrobe.

Rose and I followed his instructions in silence, only pulling on the other's hand when we needed to change our direction. When we finally found the closet, we burst in, our eyes in pure fascination. The room was huge, and filled with more clothes that I could imagine. It was organized by time period and then categorized by decade, to our delight. We ran about, looking at everything that was available to us. We tried on things that had nothing to do with 1860 for a bit of fun and then decided to actually get dressed for our adventure. As we looked through the proper dresses, we went through what we knew would and would not look good on each other. After a few minutes, we found the perfect dresses. Rose's was off the shoulder, with a black bodice and burgundy skirt. She had put up her hair and added a small cloth flower in her hair. My dress was a bit form fitting, with no sleeves, a dark blue bodice, a black skirt. I had left my hair down, in its naturally curly state and donned a black coverall for the December night. When we finished up, we found the Doctor working under the console. His eyes grew wide when he finally looked up and took in our appearance.

"Blimey!"

"Don't laugh," Rose smiled, pointing a not so threatening finger at him. Uncomfortable under his gaze, I shuffled about a bit and smoothed down the non-existent wrinkles that plagued the dress.

"You two look beautiful, considering."

"Considering what?" I questioned, finally coming out of my slight shell as I felt a backhanded compliment approaching. Of course one would; the man was a treasure trove of them.

"That you're humans."

Rose turned to me, with a smile. "I think that's a compliment, Cerys." I quirked an eyebrow but returned her smile.

"A shoddy one at that." As I turned my gaze from my best friend, I couldn't help but notice that the Doctor hadn't changed at all. "What about you? Aren't you going to change into something more, oh, I don't know, appropriate?"

"I've changed my jumper." He pulled at his shirt to show us. Indeed, he had changed his jumper, it going from a forest green to a purple. "Come on," the Doctor said as he moved from the console and towards the door.

Almost instantly, Rose stopped him, releasing my hand in the process. "You two stay there. You've done this before. This is mine." I smiled and let her go, walking over to the Doctor. She slowly left the Tardis, leaving the Doctor and me to watch her hesitant and excited steps. With a quick glance, the Doctor and I quickly follow after her.

"Ready for this? Here we go," he smiled, holding out his arms for us to take. "History."

As we walked through the snowy street, he released our hands, going over to the paper man. I watched as the Doctor exchanging some currency with the boy and look at the newspaper. My brows furrowed when I saw the smile leave his face. While Rose looked around in awe, I walked over to him and saw that he had not moved us to another country like promised. I slapped his arm, knowing Rose would be disappointed. "I got the flight a bit wrong."

"I don't care."

"It's not 1860, it's 1869."

"I don't care."

"And it's not Naples."

"I don't care."

I knew he was stalling so I decided to tell her myself. "It's Cardiff, Rosie." I watched as she stopped in her tracks, disappointment covering her face. I couldn't blame her. We had both been hoping to get out of our home area. The change in year didn't really matter to us- it was all about the location.

"Right," she muttered. "So, Cardiff, 1869? Did you at least get the date right?"

"Course I did. Dates are easy."

"Obviously," I muttered rolling my eyes.

"What is there to do in Cardiff this year? Doesn't seem like much would happen."

I walked away from the two as I spotted a poster on the wall of a building. "Hey," I called out, grabbing their attention. "Charles Dickens is here. Maybe we can go see him. What do you say Rose?"

"I never liked him much."

"You didn't even read his books. Besides, he'll be telling the story." Rose just shook her head, not wanting to do anything pertaining to literature. Is there anything else to do?" Just as the words left my mouth, we heard screams coming from the across from us.

"That's more like it," the Doctor smiled as he the newspaper aside. He grabbed our hands and we ran to towards the commotion.

Once inside, we watched the scene unfold- a blue mist flew around the room, mostly in the upper theatre seats. The Doctor looked up in fascination, saying that it was fantastic. I watched as the old woman collapsed, a blue gas leaving her mouth. A shiver played down my spine as a high pitched ear-shattering scream filled the air, an indication that whatever we were about to deal with would not end well.

"Did you see where it came from?" the Doctor asked a man who stood nearby.

"Ah, the wag reveals himself, does he? I trust you're satisfied, sir!"

"He's not responsible for this. We just got here," I heatedly stated before turning away to look at Rose, gesturing for her to agree. However, her attention was not on the Doctor and me but on a man and woman who had gone over to the old woman. From our different positions, we watched as they picked her up and carried her out of the building.

Before I could make a sound, Rose was on them. "Oi! Leave her alone! Doctor, I'll get them." She looked at me briefly before rushing out, leaving me standing beside the Doctor.

The Doctor jumped on the stage, me following soon after. "Did it say anything? Can it speak? I'm the Doctor, by the way."

"Doctor? You look more like a navvie," the man replied curtly.

"What's wrong with my jumper?" the Doctor asked, looking down at his jacket. I smiled at his reaction but then turned my attention to the blue mist, watching as it flew into a gas light. Forgetting what the man had said, the Doctor turned to me. "Gas! It's made of gas."

"Or attracted to it in some way," I mused. The Doctor nodded, acknowledging my words. The swell of pride I felt immediately dissipated as my thoughts quickly turned to Rose. She was outside with the woman the blue mist had left. The Doctor, seeming to share my concern, grabbed hold of my hand and dragged me out of the theatre.

"Rose!" we both called as we saw an undertaker's carriage door close and begin to speed down the snow ridden street and the blonde nowhere to be found. Anger quickly bubbled in me at the fact that I had been so careless as to let her wander out alone. As my best friend, I knew she was capable of taking care of herself but I still worried about what could happen and how she had even gotten into the carriage to begin with; she wasn't exactly quiet.

"You're not escaping me, sir, ma'am. What do you know about that hobogoblin, hmm? Projection on glass, I suppose, who put you up to it?" The man from inside had followed us out, still thinking the Doctor was behind what had happened. I rolled my eyes at him, irritated. Could he not decipher the severity of the situation we were in? Rose had been kidnapped and there was blue mist flying about for goodness sakes.

"Yeah, mate," the Doctor said, dismissing the man, "Not now, thanks. Oi, you!" He pointed to the driver of a nearby carriage before he got in. "Follow that hearse!"

"I can't do that, sir."

"And WHY the hell not? We're in a hurry," I growled as I followed after the Doctor. There was no way a stupid cabbie would keep me from finding Rose.

"Yes, why not?"

The man from the theatre stood in front of the door, glaring daggers at the Doctor and me. "I'll tell you why not. I'll give you a very good reason why not."

"Well, hurry it up," I interjected, earning a harder glare from the man, if that were even possible. If it were any other situation, I might have actually felt bad for causing so much trouble for the man but at the moment, I couldn't be bothered to care.

"Because you impudent woman, this is MY coach." I rolled my eyes at him, not at all phased by his words. I'd heard a lot worse and it was during my time in secondary school.

"Well, get in then. Move!" The man was quickly pulled into the carriage by the Doctor. The moment the man was inside and the door closed, the driver soon cracked his whip and the horses took off down the road.

"Can't you go any faster? You're losing them," I voiced.

Instead of answering my question, the driver went to address the disgruntled older man. "Everything in order, Master Dickens?"

"No! It is not!"

"What did he say?" the Doctor questioned, his eyes making contact with mine in curiosity, not that I could blame him. I wasn't quite I'd heard the driver right myself. There was no way this man could be... no, he couldn't be. Could he?

"Let me say this first. I'm not without a sense of humour."

"Dickens?"

"Yes."

"Charles Dickens?"

"Yes."

"Wait, _the_ Charles Dickens? The _Christmas Carol_ Charles Dickens?" I sputtered, my eyes wide in excitement.

"Should I remove them, sir?"

Mr Dickens didn't have a chance to answer as the Doctor started speaking. "Charles Dickens? You're brilliant, you are. Completely one hundred percent brilliant," the man rambled off, not that I minded though. It was something I'd gotten used to while being with him. "I've read them all. Great Expectations, Oliver Twist and what's the other one, the one with the ghost?"

"A Christmas Carol?"

"No, no, no, the one with the trains." The Doctor continued to think about which it was. When he couldn't come up with it, he glanced over at me, asking for assistance.

"The Signal Man," I replied after a moment's thought.

"Yes, the Signal Man, that's it. Terrifying! The best short story ever written. You're a genius, right Cerys?" I nodded in agreement. Charles Dickens was one of my favourite male authors throughout secondary school and it was great to meet him; a bit better than actually hearing him recite one of his stories, honestly.

"You want me to get rid of them, sir?" the driver asked again.

"Er, no, I think they can stay." Obviously we had been able to change his opinion of us with all the praise we'd given. That was a plus, it meant we'd get to Rose in a timely matter, not that we should have had to go through all this to begin with. However, on every adventure we'd had with the Time Lord, Rose or me always ended up in a prickly situation that required the Doctor's assistance to get out of. The pattern was becoming quite old and exhausting.

"Honestly, Charles. Can I call you Charles?" Before the man could answer the Doctor's question, the man ploughed on. "I'm such a big fan."

Dicken's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the Doctor's words. "A what? A big what?"

"Fan. Number one fan, that's me."

"How exactly are you a fan? In what way do you resemble a means of keeping oneself cool?" I stifled the laugh that threatened to escape. It wasn't the time or place to mock the man who was ultimately helping us find Rose.

"He means he admires your work," I replied, easing his confusion. The Doctor glanced at me, not appreciating my input. I rolled my eyes at him. He always enjoyed being the smartest person in the room. Since our previous adventure, I've been trying to input more and deflate his big head a bit, not that it was actually working. The man knew leagues more than me, but the times I was able to get the answer out before him were always the best as his shocked reaction always made me beam with pride.

"No, it means fanatic- devoted to. Mind you, I've got to say, that American bit in Martin Chuzzlewit, what's that about? Was that just padding or what? I mean, it's rubbish, that bit."

"I thought you said you were my _fan_."

"Ah, well, if you can't take criticism. Go on, do the death of Little Nell, it cracks me up," I glared at the Doctor as he spoke. It was great to meet Charles Dickens but my best friend was out there and I was in no mood to listen to anything that had nothing to do with getting to her. A swift and light kick to the shin, I was able to get him back on task. "No, sorry, forget about that. Come on, faster!"

"Who's exactly in that hearse?"

"My friend, her sister." At the mention of Rose being my sister, he raised an eyebrow. Surly we looked nothing alike- her with fair skin and blonde hair and me with curly brown tresses and a tanned complexion- but people didn't have to be related by blood, a notion that was obviously not known to the genius. "She's only nineteen. It's my fault. She's in my care, and now she's in danger."

Upon hearing that, Charles grunted as if annoyed with the Doctor. "Why are we wasting my time talking about dry old books? This is much more important. Driver, be swift! The chase is on!" Charles yelled out the window to the driver.

"Yes, sir!" With that, the carriage began to fly through the streets. The force sent me falling into the seat, pushing deeper against it. The Doctor shot me a curious glance before turning the Mr Dickens.

"Attaboy, Charlie."

"Nobody calls me Charlie."

"The ladies do," the Doctor replied, winking at me. I smiled, feeling my cheeks heat up a bit. I didn't know why that happened, but I stored it away for future consideration. There had to be a rational explanation as to why I reacted to certain actions made by the Doctor. I mean I knew WHY I'd react in a such a way but the REASON as to why escaped me.

"How do you know that?"

"I told you, I'm your number one-"

"Number one fan," Charles interrupted, exasperated. We were quiet for a while, mostly because Charles was a bit unnerved by the whole fan thing and I was too busy trying not to laugh at the Doctor's downcast expression at the man's response to him.

When we came to a stop moments later, I immediately opened the cab door and escaped from the confined space, stalking to the house before us. The Doctor and Charles quickly followed and by the time they'd joined me, I was already banging on the door. The Doctor managed to get me away long enough for the home-owner to open up. As impatient as ever, my hand tapped against my thigh, a nervous habit of mine. When the door FINALLY opened, the three of us were met by a woman whose eyes quickly shifted between the three of us. I was tempted to push past her but I retrained myself... and the Doctor had a firm grip on my elbow.

"I'm sorry. We're closed."

"Nonsense. Since when did an Undertaker keep office hours? The dead don't die on schedule. I demand to see your master," Charles Dickens snapped, efficiently startling the already nervous woman. The Doctor and I stood at his sides, peeking looks into the house.

"He's not in sir."

"Don't lie to me, child. Summon him at once."

"I'm awfully sorry, Master Dickens, but the master's indisposed." I rolled my eyes at the woman. Obviously she was trying to cover up for her employer. Instead of getting involved like I wanted to, I let Charles handle it. My attention was drawn to the inside of the house, taking in everything I could through the partially opened door.

Finding something, I nudged the Doctor, pointing to the gas lamp that flickered. With a quick nod, he stepped forward, gaining the woman's attention, much to Charles' disdain. "Having trouble with your gas?" he inquired her, tilting his towards the lamp.

Charles followed his nod and saw what we had both witnessed. "What the Shakespeare is going on?"

Without answering Mr Dickens, the Doctor and I pushed past the girl, looking at the lamp-more so he was looking at it while I glared at the woman. I wasn't very happy with her, but I knew I probably shouldn't take my anger out on her. I was quite certain she was just following the orders of her employer. "You're not allowed inside, sir," she whispered.

"There's something inside the walls. The gas pipes. Something's living inside the gas." As he finished his sentence, there was a muffled banging sound. I could hear someone crying to let them out of a room. Screw my previous thoughts, if looks could kill, the woman would be minced meat on the floor. Sensing my anger, the Doctor grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him. "That's her." Without leaving room for anyone to respond, he dragged me down the hall, only to bump into a man, the _master_ of the place.

"How dare you, sir," he grumbled to the Doctor, completely ignoring my presence. I tried my hardest to keep in mind the time we were in and was able to at least control my tongue- my glare, not so much. He then turned to Charles. "This is my house!"

"Shut up."

The man looked shocked to be spoken to in such a manner but said nothing else to Charles. Instead, he turned to the woman. I barely heard him mutter an 'I told you' as the Doctor and I rushed to wherever Rose was being held.

The Doctor released my hand when we found the door, and kicked it in. "I think this is my dance," he said before he pulled Rose away from the old woman from earlier. Charles stood behind me, his face contorted in disbelief. I was just as shocked, although after all my travels with the Doctor, it was more out of fascination than actual disbelief.

"It's a prank. It must be. We're under some mesmeric influence."

"No, we're not. The dead are walking." He turned to Rose. "Hi."

"Hi. Who's your friend?"

"Charles Dickens," I answered, feeling as if they had forgotten me, something I noticed happened occasionally. The Doctor looked at me, trying to catch my eye but I avoided it as I moved to hug Rose. I wouldn't lie, it kind of hurt that I was so easily forgotten but then again, I wasn't all that special. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Yeah, me too. So, Charles Dickens?"

"Yep."

"Guess you got to see him after all."

I forced a smile and nodded. At this point, I no longer cared that I'd met the man. I wanted nothing more than to figure out what was going on and then return to the Tardis. I wanted to be alone as I let my self depreciating thoughts destroy me. Yep, that was a normal night for me. So wonderfully healthy. "Yeah, funny man, great man."

I turned from her and watched as the Doctor stared down the two people who were supposed to be dead. "My name's the Doctor. Who are you, then? What do you want?" he queried to whatever possessed the corpses.

"Falling. Open the rift." I scrunched up my nose as I heard more than one voice. "We're dying. Trapped in this form. Cannot sustain. Help us." The creature then screamed. The six of us watched as the blue gas left the two corpses and were sucked into the gas lamp, causing the bodies to collapse with a thud.

Minutes later, we were sitting in the living room as the girl, Gwyneth, poured us tea. Rose was fuming, angry that she had been kidnapped and stuck in a room with dead people. "First of all you drug me, then you kidnap me, and don't think I didn't feel your hands having a quick wander, you dirty old man," she spouted. I raised my eyebrows at him, knowing a whack from the cane she was holding was probably coming next. She had a temper like Jackie's and it wasn't pretty.

"I won't be spoken to like this!"

Rose continued, not bothering to acknowledge the man's interruption. "Then you stuck me in a room full of zombies! And if that ain't enough, you swan off leaving me to die! So come on, talk!"

"It's not my fault! It's this house." Yes, blame the house. It was the reason you kidnapped Rose. "It always had a reputation. Haunted. But I never had much bother until a few months back, and then the stiffs," I raised an eyebrow at his term that he caught. "The, er, dear departed," the man, Sneed, corrected himself, bowing his head, "started getting restless."

"Tommyrot."

He turned to Charles, who had voiced his disbelief. "You witnessed it. Can't keep the beggars down, sir. They walk. And it's the queerest thing, but they hang on to scraps." I listened intently, curious as to what was happening. My thoughts raced as I thought of it all. Yes, it seemed as if the dead were walking but there had to be a logical explanation for it and I was certain the gaseous blue creatures were the reason things were going mad. Even so, I knew there was something I was missing, something important. I barely paid attention Gwyneth and the Doctor's exchange in fear I'd lose my train of thought. "One old fellow who used to be a sexton almost walked into his own memorial service. Just like the old lady going to your performance, sir, just as she planned."

"Morbid fancy."

"Oh, come on Charlie, you were there. You saw it plain as day, just as we all did minutes ago," I all but snapped, earning an affronted look from the man. I couldn't help my tone, he was being an idiot. I was aware that people often discounted things they couldn't logically explain, but he was there, he WITNESSED it.

"I saw nothing but an illusion."

"If you're going to deny it, don't waste my time. Just shut up," the Doctor barked at Dickens before turning his attention back to Sneed. "What about the gas?"

"That's new, sir. Never seen anything like that."

"Means it's getting stronger, the rift is getting wider and something's sneaking through."

"What's the rift?" Rose asked.

"A weak point in time and space. A connection between this place and another. That's the cause of ghost stories, most of the time," the Doctor answered. His answer seemed to bring everything together in my mind. That was what I was missing, the third element. It made sense and could very well be the reason for the happenings in the house. The only thing I couldn't really get was why inhabit the dead. The creatures obviously lacked a physical form so maybe that could be it, but I couldn't help the feeling that their intentions were less than innocent.

I watched as Charles stood and made his way to the door that was in behind Sneed's armchair. His demeanour screamed he was ready to leave so I stood and followed after him in hopes of convincing him to stay. Another mind could help us figure out what we were missing as well as come up with other possibilities. Before he walked out the front door though, I watched as he stopped by a gas lamp and tried to listen for a sound.

"Did you hear anything?"

Startled he turned and faced me, smoothing out the non-existent wrinkles in his clothes. "No."

I gave him a small smile before moving to his side. "Listen carefully," I instructed, placing a hand on his arm as a way to keep him still. "It's there, you just have to concentrate." The man nodded and took a breath.

We stood in utter silence for a moment before a look of shock crossed his face. My smile grew, knowing he had heard the whispers. "Impossible."

"Is it truly?" He didn't reply. Instead he rushed to the chapel of rest, moving immediately to the younger man's coffin. He waved his hand in front of the man face, dug his hands in the coffin linen, and checked under and on the sides of the coffin. I knew what he was doing, searching for something that would prove what had happened was a trick. It was smart of him, sure, but unnecessary. It was obvious there was no trickery involved. Hearing a rustled beside me, I looked towards the door and noticed the Doctor leaning against its frame, arms crossed and a slightly amused expression on his face.

"Checking for strings?"

"Wires, perhaps. There must be some mechanism behind this fraud."

"But you heard-" I stopped when I felt the Doctor's gaze on me. I don't know why I had, but for some reason, I was still hurt by the fact he'd seemingly forgotten about me. Instead, I settled on watching Charles until the Doctor finally turned away from me and reverted his attention to Mr Dickens.

"Oh, come on, Charles." The Doctor walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "All right. I shouldn't have told you to shut up. I'm sorry. But you've got one of the best minds in the world. You saw those gas creatures."

"I cannot accept that."

"And what does the human body do when it decomposes? It breaks down and produces gas. Perfect home for these gas things. They can slip inside and use it as a vehicle, just like your driver and his coach."

"Stop it. Can it be that I have the world entirely wrong?"

"No," I muttered. That brought both men's attention to me for a moment. The Doctor quirked an eyebrow as if waiting for me to continue. When he realised I wasn't going to, he decided to say what we were both thinking.

"Not wrong. There's just more to learn." I decided to leave after the Doctor's comment. I had nothing more to input and it was likely they wouldn't really listen to me anyways. No, that wasn't true, they probably would have but with the Doctor in the room and my current irrational emotions, it was better off I was away from him. I still needed to figure out exactly why I was responding to him the way I was. With one last glance at the two men, mainly the Doctor I left the room to find Rose.


	6. The Servant Girl Who Saved the World

26/10/2015

* * *

When I finally found the blonde, she was in the pantry speaking with Gwyneth. "Mind if I join? The men are a bit annoying." They smiled and welcomed me to the conversation, something I was very grateful for. The house felt weird to me and the urge to flee intensified the longer we were in the house. I needed something to keep my hands busy so I started to help Gwyneth with the dishes.

"Please, miss, you shouldn't be helping. It's not right."

"Just Cerys, please, and it's fine, I don't mind. Besides, I need to keep my hands busy."

Rose attention instantly snapped to me. Knowing I'd said the wrong thing, especially after what had happened earlier, I sighed. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I'm worried and uneasy. It's the house and those creatures. Something about them doesn't seem right to me. It's like they're showing us what will either gain our trust or empathy. A wolf in sheepskin." I shrugged, not really sure as to how to explain it in a way that made sense. I also didn't want to offend Gwyneth. After getting pass the who kidnapping Rose thing, I realised she wasn't that bad to be around.

"I'm sure it's nothing. If it is, the Doctor will figure it out," she smiled. It was a weak attempt but she knew that I would still have the feeling. The most that could help would be a distraction until I was able to figure things out myself. She knew I didn't like to depend on anyone and if I could avoid it I would do so. "So, did you even go to school, or what?" she asked Gwyneth, scratching at her shoulder.

I couldn't help but face palm as Rose finished her question. It was kind of rude of her, as well as ignorant. Gwyneth was quite offended as well. "Of course I did. What do you think I am, an urchin? I went every Sunday, nice and proper."

"What, once a week?" I giggled at Rose's disbelief. She seemed to forget that it was 1869 and not 2005.

"We did sums and everything. To be honest, I hated every second."

"Us too." The three of us laughed. It was the truth. While Rose did attend class for the most part, I was notorious for skipping school. The amount of times Jackie had to fight off the principal and anyone else who had something to say about all my days absent was astronomical throughout my school years. Although there were some genuine instances in which I had to skip school, unfortunate for Jackie, most of the time I feigned illness and ended up roaming the streets once she'd left for work.

"Don't tell anyone, but one week, I didn't go and ran on the heath all on my own."

"We did plenty of that, didn't we Cerys?" I nodded, not looking up from my task. "We used to go down the shops with our-" I gave Rose a hard look knowing who she was about to bring up. Seeing my dark expression, Rose quickly rectified her statement. "My- friend Shareen. We used to go and look at boys." Gwyneth stopped laughing an almost stoic look on her face at the mention of the opposite sex.

"Well, I don't know much about that, miss."

"Come on, times haven't changed that much. I bet you've done the same."

The woman vigorously shook her head. "I don't think so, miss."

"Gwyneth, you can tell us. I bet you've got your eye on someone," Rose continued. She was a right pain when she wanted information on something. For once though, I was glad I wasn't on the receiving end of the interrogation.

"Oh, Rose, Gwyneth here isn't going to tell us about her gentleman caller." I shared a glance with Rose, the blonde knowing exactly what I was up to. The technique often worked with Jackie when she got back from a date. It was a fun game to play, one that Jackie was aware of and played along with. After years of doing so, the pair of us had perfected the art.

"I just don't think it right to talk about someone who isn't my own."

"So there is someone!" I exclaimed happily. "You can tell us. We won't tell a soul."

After a bit more prodding from Rose, I watched as Gwyneth's resolve crumbled. She didn't really have anyone to talk to, besides Sneed, and that wasn't someone you shared news of a crush with. No, she needed a female around to spill those secrets. "I suppose. There is one lad. The butcher's boy. He comes by every Tuesday. Such a lovely smile on him."

"I like a nice smile," Rose mused. "Good smile, nice bum."

"Well, I have never heard the like." I chuckled at Gwyneth's shocked expression at Rose's statement. I suppose to her, it was something women didn't really talk about. But still, Rose and I weren't necessarily from the 1860s. There wasn't a way in which we could follow the formalities of the time when we honestly had no real idea as to what they were. Heck, even if we did, I doubt either of us conform to such ideals.

"Ask him out. Give him a cup of tea or something, that's a start," my friend offered.

"Or you could just have a nice chat. The tea could come a little after."

"I swear it is the strangest thing. You two have got all the clothes and the breeding, but you talk like some wild things."

"Maybe we are. Maybe that's a good thing. You need a bit more in your life than Mister Sneed."

I shook my head at my friend's comment. While I understood that she was upset with the man, I had a feeling that Sneed had done a lot for Gwyneth. Besides, it wasn't that he was a bad man. I more or less got the feeling that he was an idiot and at the time he'd drugged and kidnapped Rose, it was out of fear. Someone had seen him hauling a corpse into the back of his carriage and was kicking up a fuss. It was probably the only thing he could think of in that moment. "Rose, I'm sure he has done a lot for her."

"Cerys is right. He's not so bad, old Sneed. He was very kind to take me in, because I lost my mum and dad to the flu when I was twelve," I dried my hands and placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Thank you miss. But I'll be with them again, one day, sitting with them in paradise. I shall be so blessed. They're waiting for me. Maybe your dad's up there waiting for you, miss. And your son's waiting for you to find him, Cerys."

"Who told you about Rose's dad?" I asked suspiciously before her words to me finally sunk in. "Son? I don't have any kids."

"I don't know. Must have been the Doctor."

"My dad died before I met the Doctor and Cerys' doesn't have a kid as far as I know." She glanced at me in question and I violently shook my head. I was sure I'd know if I had a child and there was no way I was thinking about having any. I wasn't the nurturing type to begin with and there was no one around me who'd be a candidate even if I was thinking about having one.

"But you've been thinking about him lately more than ever and you Cerys, you've thought of it as well."

"I suppose so," Rose answered. I decided not to speak. I honestly hadn't been thinking about children, although, she could have been referring to the nightmare I had the other night. It was plausible that was what Gwyneth had picked up on. As to how though, I wasn't quite sure but I was working on it. "How do you know all this?"

"Mister Sneed says I think too much. I'm all alone down here. I bet you've got dozens of servants, don't you, miss?"

"No, no servants where we're from."

"And you've come such a long way." I stared at Gwyneth, the eerie feeling once again washing over me. I wasn't sure if it was just the house or if the woman had an actual ability, that she was able to see things others could not. I wanted it to be something natural for Gwyneth, but I couldn't help the thought that where the house was located had something to do with her ability as well.

"What makes you think so?"

Gwyneth moved closer to us, staring at us. "You're from London. I've seen London in drawings, but never like that. All those people rushing about half naked, for shame. And the noise, and the metal boxes racing past, and the birds in the sky, no, they're metal as well. Metal birds with people in them. People are flying. And you, you two have flown so far. Further than anyone. The things you've seen. The darkness, the death, the big bad wolf and the daughter of time." She stumbled away, almost as if she were afraid of us. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, misses," Gwyneth said, her eyes wide in fear. I snatched my hand from her shoulder, staring at her, not sure how to process her words. How could she have known, unless... The house, no, the creatures were doing something to her, affecting her in some way, maybe even strengthening a slightly psychic part of her.

"It's all right." Although Rose attempted to comfort her, I couldn't help but be wary. I knew Gwyneth wasn't a bad person, but the fact that she'd said those things, that she'd been able to see our London, it was disconcerting.

"I can't help it." Gwyneth faced me, her expression apologetic before she continued to speak. "Ever since I was a little girl, my mam said I had the sight. She told me to hide it."

"But it's getting stronger, more powerful, is that right?" We all turned to see the Doctor standing at the doorway with an unreadable expression on his face. I couldn't help but wonder as to how much of it he had heard, although I was quite sure he'd heard most of what had been said.

"All the time. Every night, voices in my head."

"You grew up on the rift. You're a part of it. You're the key."

"I've tried to make sense of it, sir. Consulted with spiritualists, table rappers, all sorts."

"Well that should help. You can show us what to do."

"What to do where, sir?"

"We're going to have a séance," the Doctor said with a tiny smile. I stared at him in disbelief, grounded to my spot. I stared after Rose and Gwyneth as they nodded and left the room without question, most likely to prepare for what was to happen. It worried me a bit since Rose often questioned EVERYTHING. Their absence left the Doctor and me alone, something I wasn't looking forward to. Sure, I was able to repress the irritation I had with him, but at the same time, I wasn't. It continued to rear its ugly head whenever I let my guard down. "Is everything alright?"

"No," I snapped before taking in a breath. "We shouldn't do this."

"You scared?"

I thought for a moment. Fear was something that I rarely had but I knew that's not what I felt. This was different. Nothing felt right, and the Gelth were the main issue I had. They seemed to be say the things that would get them pity. "I'm not afraid. We don't know what we're dealing with and I know this might help but it feels so wrong."

"What does?" he asked, coming over to me. He placed his hands on my shoulders, looking directly into my eyes. I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable under his gaze, but at the same time, his nearness made me feel safe. I inwardly groaned, I was a mess of conflicting emotions and it was driving me mad.

"This house, and those creatures. There are whispers in this house and those creatures are part of their origin." I shivered as I thought about it. No, they came after the rift. They were using it. I remained silent on that thought, knowing the Doctor had probably already known what I'd just figured out. "I know this might seem foolish but I won't partake in it, I can't."

"I understand. You don't have to do anything you don't want to."

"You wouldn't be able to get me to," I cracked a smile before moving out of his grip. "Come on then, you have a job to do." The Doctor nodded and grabbed hold of my hand. I stared at our intertwined fingers for a moment before meeting the Doctor's eyes. He seemed happy, whether it was with himself or that I hadn't ripped my hand from his, I wasn't sure, but I left things as they were. A large part of me didn't want to be any farther from him than I was, although it definitely wanted to get closer. Forcing those thoughts aside, I followed the Doctor to the living room.

As I watched everyone sit at a round table, I stood where the Doctor once had, leaning against the mantle partially hidden in the shadows. The Doctor gave me a quick smile before turning his attention to Gwyneth.

"This is how Madam Mortlock summons those from the Land of Mists, down in big town. Come, we must all join hands." I observed as everyone in the room took each other's hands, well everyone but Charles Dickens.

"I can't take part in this."

"Humbug? Come on, open mind," the Doctor said, rolling his eyes.

"This is precisely the sort of cheap mummery I strive to unmask. Séances? Nothing but luminous tambourines and a squeeze box concealed between the knees. This girl knows nothing," Charles snapped.

I rolled my eyes at him. There was no way the mind could rationalise what we'd all seen in the room, or even at the theatre, no matter how hard he tried to... and it did irritate me that he'd discredit Gwyneth before actually seeing what she could do. "How could you know what she knows if you don't give her a chance? I believe she knows, but like the Doctor said, have an open mind."

"And why aren't you joining us?"

"I am too ill for such trips. The spirits would overtake me as well, probably kill me. Wouldn't want that, would you, Charlie?" I cooed. He looked away from me, his cheeks slightly pink in colour. I couldn't help the triumphant smile that started on my lips, the smile I quickly hid. There was no reason for Charles to know I was basically toying with him.

"I still don't think she knows." Charles stood up, looking as if he wanted to leave that very instant. I suppose he was over all this... or that he was frightened because there was no way he could rationalised what he'd seen.

"Now, don't antagonize her. I love a happy medium," the Doctor said. I laughed at him, both amused and in disbelief that he had actually said that.

"I can't believe you just said that," Rose smirked, saying what I had thought.

"Come on, we might need you." That seemed to get Charles to gingerly take the seat between Rose and Gwyneth and took their hands. I smiled fondly at the Doctor... and Rose as I watched him... them.

"Good man. Now, Gwyneth, Reach out."

Nodding, the woman began to call out to the Gelth. "Speak to us. Are you there? Spirits, come. Speak to us that we may relieve your burden." As she timidly spoke, I began to hear the whisperings from earlier. The feeling of dread, that had faded after speaking with the Doctor, had returned with a force. I glanced around, trying to pinpoint where the whispers were coming from but learned that we were surrounded.

"Can you hear that?" Rose questioned, mainly the Doctor. He was the main one who could answer her questions so it made sense that it was directed towards him.

"Nothing can happen. This is sheer folly."

"Charles, I think you should be quiet. How can nothing happen? Look at her. Look at Gwyneth."

"I can see them." She began to rock back and forth, her head raised up. "I can feel them." Bits of blue gas began to drift above their heads. One or two strayed towards me but almost abruptly returned to the circle. I cocked my head to the side in confusion. That wasn't the reaction I'd expected and it only raised more questions.

"What's it saying?" Rose asked.

"They can't get through the rift. Gwyneth, it's not controlling you, you're controlling it," the Doctor replied, looking at her. "Now, look deep. Allow them through."

"I can't!"

"Yes, you can. Just believe it. I have faith in you, Gwyneth. Make the link."

I observed as she did as the Doctor said, using his words of encouragement as strength. "Yes," she replied to the unanswered question. A blue outline of three people began to appear behind her.

"Great God! Spirits from the other side," Sneed gasped.

"The other side of the universe," the Doctor corrected. I watched as the figures began to speak in the voices of children, Gwyneth along with them. Their words sent shivers down my spine. There was no way I felt anything good coming from them.

"Pity us. Pity the Gelth. There is so little time. Help us."

"What do you want us to do?"

"The rift. Take the girl to the rift. Make the bridge."

"What for?"

"We are so very few. The last of our kind. We face extinction." I furrowed my brows. What had happened to make them 'face extinction'? While I was sure something had happened, I wasn't sure they were 'so very few' as the three had said. The amount of whispers told me otherwise.

"Why, what happened?"

"Once we had a physical form like you, but then the war came."

"War? What war?" Charles asked.

"The Time War," I saw the Doctor's eyes sadden, guilt riddled in them but he quickly covered it up. I wanted to reach out and comfort him but I didn't, I refused to get any closer to the circle. "The whole universe convulsed. The Time War raged. Invisible to smaller species but devastating to higher forms. Our bodies wasted away. We are trapped in this gaseous state."

"So that's why you need the corpses." I knew that was probably half of what they were going for, however I knew that getting the new bodies would come with a very heavy price. Then there was them bringing up the Time War. It was as if they knew exactly what buttons to push in order to gain the Doctor's trust or cooperation. It was sickening.

"We want to stand tall, to feel the sunlight, to live again. We need a physical form, and your dead are abandoned. They're going to waste. Give them to us."

Rose shook her head. "But we can't."

"Why not."

"It's not. I mean, it's not…"

"Not decent? Not polite? It could save their lives."

"Open the rift. Let the Gelth through. We're dying. Help us. Pity the Gelth," the creature said before it went back into the gas lamp, leaving Gwyneth to collapse on the table. As I rushed over to her, I noticed that I had inched myself further away from the table, from the Gelth.

"Gwyneth?"

"All true." I ignored Charles as I tried to rouse Gwyneth to no avail. I was completely worried for the woman. She had just done something that'd drained most of her energy. It wasn't something I was happy about.

"Are you okay?" Rose asked the girl as she held her head to her.

"It's all true," Dickens repeated, stunned at what had just occurred.

Rose and I had moved away from Gwyneth so that the she could be moved to a settee by the men. Once she was settled, I left the living room and went outside the house. The cold air helped me catch my breath, helped to ease away the feelings of dread. I wasn't sure how long I had been outside but soon Rose was at my side, telling me that Gwyneth had woken up. I hesitantly re-entered the house, positive that there was a lot more than the sob story the Gelth had told us.

When we arrived, she had started to sit up. I went to lean on a wall while Rose rushed to her, gently pushing her down. "It's alright. You just need sleep."

"But my angels, miss. They came, didn't they? They need me?"

"They do need you, Gwyneth. You're their only chance of survival."

Rose turned to the Doctor, eyes blazing. "I've told you, leave her alone. She's exhausted and she's not fighting your battles." I furrowed my brows in confusion, knowing I'd missed something as the Doctor let out an annoyed breath but said nothing more to her. Rose turned to Gwyneth, a glass of water in hand. "Drink this."

"Well, what did you say, Doctor? Explain again. What are they?"

"Aliens."

"Like foreigners, you mean?" Sneed inquired as he attempted to understand what the Doctor meant in aliens.

"Pretty foreign, yeah. From up there?"

"Brecon?"

"Close. And they've been trying to get through from Brecon to Cardiff but the road's blocked. Only a few can get through and even then they're weak. They can only test drive the bodies for so long, then they have to revert to gas and hide in the pipes."

"Which is why they need the girl."

"They're not having her."

The Doctor seemed to ignore Rose, something I knew she didn't take kindly. Hell, I hated when I was ignored and that was something that happened so often that I should be used to it. "But she can help. Living on the rift, she's become a part of it. She can open it up, make a bridge and let them through."

"Incredible. Ghosts that are not ghosts but beings from another world, who can only exist in our world by inhabiting cadavers," Charles said. I smiled at his amazement and that he understood what was happening. He was a remarkable man.

"Good system. It might work."

Rose stood and stormed over to the Doctor, hands on her hips and face turned up in a menacing scowl. "You can't let them run around inside of dead people."

"Why not? It's like recycling."

"Seriously though, you can't."

"Seriously though, I can."

"It's just wrong. Those bodies were living people. We should respect them in death." Rose looked at me, her eyes pleading for help. I could understand where she was coming from, but the dead were dead. It would be better than rotting in the ground I suppose, albeit weird seeing grandma puttering about when there was a service a few days past. "Cerys, what do you think?"

I shrugged. "My opinion won't matter much. It seems as if his mind is made."

"It doesn't matter. Just tell him."

"Rose, I don't mind them using the bodies-"

The Doctor grinned triumphantly. "See, even Cerys thinks so."

"I'm not done," I replied smoothly, raising a brow at the Time Lord. "If the Gelth had pure intentions it would not be a problem but as I've said before, there is something off about them. I don't think we should be so quick to help them."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Do you have a donor card?" Rose answered with a yes while I a no. It wasn't that I didn't care about people, but I just never wanted to, especially knowing how things were done in some circumstances.

"That's different. That's-"

"It is different, yeah. It's a different morality. Get used to it or go home," the Doctor retorted, angrily. Rose stared at him for a moment, waiting for whatever else he had to say. "You heard what they said, time's short. I can't worry about a few corpses when the last of the Gelth could be dying."

"I don't care. They're not using her."

I looked down at Gwyneth, knowing how she felt. I sympathized with her. Everyone was telling her what she should and should not do and yet it was her choice, it was her body and her ability. Meeting my eyes, she could easily tell that I felt she needed to speak up. "Don't I get a say, miss?"

"Look, you don't understand what's going on," Rose softly told her.

"You don't know that, Rose." She looked at me, as if to tell me to stay out of it. I rolled my eyes at her. It was wrong of her to try and take Gwyneth's choice from her, she had no right to do so. Glaring at Rose, I crossed my arms and waited for her to back down, not that she would unless Gwyneth said something.

"You would say that, miss, because that's very clear in your head, that you think I'm stupid."

"That's not fair."

"It's true though. Things may be very different where you're from, but here and now, I know my own mind, and the angels need me," Gwyneth said before turning to me. "Thank you, Cerys. You treated me kindly, just as your friend. You have not judged me and have allowed me to make my own decision in this matter." I nodded. "Doctor, what do I have to do?"

"You don't have to do anything."

"They've been singing to me since I was a child, sent by my mam on holy mission. So tell me."

"We need to find the rift. This house is built on a weak spot, so there must be a spot weaker than any other." He walked over to the table. "Mister Sneed, what's the weakest part of this house? The place where most of the ghosts have been seen?"

"That would be the morgue," he answered.

"No chance you were going to say gazebo, is there?" Rose muttered. I shared her disdain. If the morgue was the epicentre of the activity, I wanted to be as far away from it as possible. Unfortunately for me, curiosity got the best of me, and Rose's grip on my hand.

When we all reached to cold basement, I immediately noticed bodies under white sheets. Goosebumps began to form on my skin and my hairs stood on end. If the Gelth wanted the dead, they picked a pretty good place to get them.

"Urgh. Talk about Bleak House."

"The thing is, Doctor, the Gelth don't succeed, 'cos I know they don't. I know for a fact there weren't any corpses walking around in 1869."

"Time's in flux, changing every second. Your cosy little world can be rewritten like that," the Doctor said, snapping his fingers. "Nothing is safe. Remember that. Nothing."

"Doctor, I think the room is getting colder," Charles informed us.

"Great, here they come," I muttered as a Gelth came out of a gas lamp by the door.

"You've come to help. Praise the Doctor. Praise him."

"Promise you won't hurt her," Rose said.

"Hurry! Please, so little time. Pity the Gelth." I realized that they said nothing about keeping Gwyneth safe. My heart began to race as the thought of them hurting her came to my mind. It would take energy for them to cross, energy that Gwyneth could not replenish. They were going to kill her and there was nothing I could do. Gwyneth's mind was made.

The Doctor walked forward with Rose and me trailing behind. "I'll take you somewhere else after the transfer. Somewhere you can build proper bodies. This isn't a permanent solution, all right?"

"My angels, I can help them live."

"Okay, where's the week point?"

"Here, beneath the arch." I watched as Gwyneth went to stand under it. Not fearing anything at the moment, I ran to Gwyneth and pulled her into a hug. When I had released her, I went to stand beside the Doctor, not caring for the looks I received. I was quite certain that was the last time we'd see her with a beating heart. Unable to do anything, I watched as the scene unfolded.

"You don't have to do this," Rose told her before the Doctor pulled her away. The resolve in Gwyneth's eyes would not waiver at my friend's words though. In fact, it seemed to strengthen.

"My angels."

"Establish the bridge. Reach out to the void. Let us through!"

"Yes, I can see you. I can see you. Come!"

"Bridge establishing."

"Come to me. Come to this world, poor lost souls!"

"It is begun. The bridge is made," the Gelth said. Gwyneth's mouth opened and blue gas began to leave her. I inched behind the Doctor. "She has given herself to the Gelth. The bridge is open. We descend." Suddenly the blue disappeared and was replaced with a red flame. The figure grew sharp teeth and its voice grew deep and hard, taking on the voice of a demon. "The Gelth will come through in force." This was exactly what I'd feared. Their intentions were not good and they would most likely leave no one alive.

"You said that you were few in number."

"A few billion. And all of us in need of corpses." The dead began to sit up, leaving the tables.

"Gwyneth, stop this." Sneed walked to her. "Listen to your master. This has gone far enough. Stop dabbling, child, and leave these things alone. I beg you-" Rose yelled at him to look out but he was too slow. I squeaked as a corpse grabbed Sneed and snapped his neck, stopping him from saying any more. One of the Gelth immediately entered him.

"I think it's gone a little bit wrong."

"You think? Maybe next time, you should listen to me when I say something is wrong. I don't want to die in 1869," I snapped. The man met my eyes for a moment before quickly looking away. It was good that he finally understood how I felt, how terrified I was at the moment. This was real and we were about to be killed if someone didn't come up with a plan quickly enough.

"I have joined the legion of the Gelth. Come, march with us."

"No," Charles said, backing away. The man had remained near the door during the entire ordeal and was slowly making his way up the small flight of stairs.

"We need bodies. All of you. Dead. The human race. Dead."

"Gwyneth, stop them. Send them back now!"

"Four more bodies. Convert them. Make them vessels for the Gelth."

The Doctor, Rose, and I were backed against a metal gate, with Sneed in front of us, arms outstretched as he tried to grab onto one of us.

"Doctor, I can't. I'm sorry. This new world of yours is too much for me. I'm so-" We didn't hear the rest of what he said as he ran out of the room. To get away from the mob of corpses, the Doctor had soniced the gate and we moved ourselves behind the gate, giving us enough space so that the corpses arms couldn't get to us.

"Give yourself to glory. Sacrifice your lives to the Gelth."

"I trusted you. I pitied you!" the Doctor yelled in anger.

"We don't want your pity. We want this world and all its flesh."

"Not while I'm alive."

"Then live no more."

"But we can't die. Tell me we can't. Cerys and I haven't even been born yet. It's impossible for us to die. Isn't it?

The Doctor looked at us. I knew what that meant. "I'm sorry."

"But it's 1869. How can we die now?"

"Time isn't a straight line. It can twist into any shape. You can be born in the twentieth century and die in the nineteenth and it's all my fault. I brought you here."

"It's not your fault .We wanted to come."

"What about me? I saw the fall of Troy, World War Five. I pushed boxes at the Boston Tea Party. Now I'm going to die in a dungeon… in Cardiff."

"Right, because everything's about you, right?" I barked.

The Doctor squeezed my hand, an action that confused me beyond belief. But before the Doctor could retort, Rose interjected. "It's not just dying. We'll become one of them." Rose thought for a minute, looking at the Doctor and me. "We'll go down fighting, yeah?" I nodded sharply.

"Yeah."

"Together?"

"Yeah." The Doctor gave my hand another squeeze, this one was harder than the other, causing me to glance up at him. Our eyes met for a brief moment before he glanced at Rose. "I'm so glad I met you two."

"Me too," Rose and I said together. Just as were about to run out into the undead mob, Charles ran into the room, a handkerchief over his mouth and nose.

"Doctor! Doctor! Turn off the flame, turn up the gas! Now, fill the room, all of it, now!"

"What are you doing?"

"Turn it all on. Flood the place."

"Brilliant. Gas."

"So we choke to death instead?"

"No, they're gas right now. We can get them out of the bodies. Aren't you paying attention, Rose?" I asked with a small smile.

"Am I correct, Doctor? These creatures are gaseous."

"Fill the room with gas, it'll draw them out of the host," the Doctor exclaimed, looking at us excitedly. "Suck them into the air like poison from a wound!" Realising that their doom was upon them, the corpses stopped in their trek towards us and turned towards the door, lumbering over to Charles.

"I hope, oh Lord, I hope that this theory will be validated soon, if not immediately." I watched as the man back away fearfully. I felt bad for him, especially considering he had risked his life to give us that valuable bit of information.

"Plenty more," the Doctor smiled before he ripped a gas pipe from the wall. Almost immediately the Gelth left the corpses, angrily circling the ceiling.

"It's working." Seeing that the creatures could no longer harm us, at least at that moment, the three ran out of the alcove, the Doctor going to Gwyneth and Rose towards Charles. It took me a moment to decide where I wanted to go, but in the end, I knew that Gwyneth was more important than my escape. I wanted desperately for her to make it out alive.

"Gwyneth, send them back. They lied. They're not angels."

"Liars?"

"Look at me." Gwyneth's gaze slowly moved to meet the Doctor's, her eyes flicking to me for a second. Her eyes were empty and that disturbed me greatly. "If your mother and father could look down and see this, they'd tell you the same. They'd give you the strength. Now sent them back!"

Rose and I coughed but it was my blonde friend who expressed her discomfort. "I can't breathe."

"Charles, get them out."

"I'm not leaving her," Rose yelled. Charles glanced over to be and our eyes met. The man quickly understood from my defiant gaze that I would rather deal with the pain than leave Gwyneth.

"They're too strong."

"Remember that world you saw? Rose and Cerys' world? All those people. None of it will exist unless you send them back through the rift."

"I can't send them back. But I can hold them. Hold them in this place, hold them here. Get out." I watched as she removed a box of matches from her apron. I shook my head, desperately opposing her decision. It killed me that she was willing to die to protect the world. Still, as I stared at the woman, I couldn't help but notice that she no longer breathed. Her brown orbs, the empty eyes that reminded me so much of my own at a time, were dull, as if no life remained. Realising she had passed, I clenched my hands into fists, angry that they'd murdered her, I hadn't noticed sooner, especially since I no longer felt the warmth that once radiated from her.

"You can't!"

"Leave this place!"

"Rose, Cerys, get out. Go now. I won't leave her while she's still in danger. Now go!" I stared at him. Not sure if I trusted him to leave. I turned to Rose, begging her not to be mad at me. She met my eyes and looked away, silently seething. At that moment, I didn't care. I wanted to help; I wanted Gwyneth to be okay... no, I wanted her to be remembered, to have a proper chance at life, to LIVE. I wanted everyone to be safe, even the Doctor.

"Cerys, I thought I told you to get out?"

"You did. I'm not leaving you alone down here. Not for you to add something else to your conscious." He looked at me and then back to Gwyneth, checking her neck for a pulse. "How long?"

"What?"

I rolled my eyes at him. It was like him to think that others weren't aware of the same things he picked up. No, we weren't all Time Lords, but most of us were intelligent in our own respects. "How long has she been dead?"

"How did you know?"

"I don't feel anything from her, haven't for a while." I knew I could have added more to my explanation, but it made no sense to. He was aware of what signified Gwyneth's death.

"It doesn't matter," he muttered, not looking at me. "I'm sorry."

"Yes it does! Don't you dare tell me it doesn't matter!" He ignored my words and kissed her forehead. I sighed, knowing he was adding her death to his conscious. I could understand how he felt at fault, he had put the idea in her head, but in the end, it was her decision. Gwyneth had chosen to do this.

"Thank you." The Doctor grabbed my hand and pulled me through the house. As we ran out the door, the house exploded and we were knocked to the floor. We quickly got up, turning to the flaming house. Rose rushed up to us.

"She didn't make it." It wasn't a question. She knew Gwyneth hadn't made it.

"I'm sorry. She closed the rift."

"At such a cost. The poor child," Charles verbalised.

"I did try, Rose, but Gwyneth was already dead. She had been dead for at least five minutes."

She looked away from the Doctor and at me. Her eyes questioned me. Rose knew I wouldn't have left if I had a say, if Gwyneth wasn't already dead. "What do you mean?"

"She was the dead the entire time, from the moment she got into the arch," I choked out before I ran off to the Tardis. Although I was used to death, this one could have been avoided. I could have said or done something or maybe take her place. There was so much that I could have done but I knew in my soul the outcome would have remained the same. It had to be Gwyneth.

I don't know how long I sat on the snow covered floor but I soon saw a hand outstretched to me. I grabbed it, knowing it was the Doctor. Letting go of my hand, he unlocked the Tardis. I immediately went in, not bothering to say anything to Charles. Following the now familiar route, I went to my room. I didn't want to be bothered by anyone and after changing in sweats and a hoodie I crawled into my bed and fell into a fitful sleep.


	7. Aliens of London

**18/01/2016**

* * *

_It was all my fault... their deaths. Her death. I should have never let her do it; never should have allowed her to help. I knew it was a lost cause, but she reminded me to so much of... I should have told her to run. We were surrounded. The murderers of so many had encircled our camp and we were left to fend for ourselves. All who ran were killed and those of us who remained, were not far from the same fate. We fought valiantly but in the end, only two of us stood. She wanted to take the final shot and how could I deny her of such a thing. Her aim, though perfect, was off and she too was taken. Another death to the fruitless war. I continued to fight, anger and despair covered me like a blanket. When the bullets ended, I collapsed to the ground. Salty tears ran down my cheeks as I thought of my platoon, of her... of him. Closing my eyes, I let my mind wander to his face. I'd never see it again; he was lost to me. With that thought, I let them take me, barely feeling the sting of death._

I jolted forward, disoriented to my surroundings, a part of me feeling as if I were still experiencing that nightmare. As my breathing began to slow, I realised I was in my room in the Tardis. A sob escaped me as the recent events returned to the forefront of my mind. A girl had died because I hadn't spoken up, because I didn't try hard enough. The tears that fell were beyond my control; they had to be shed. I pulled my legs to my chest, hugging them in an attempt to keep myself together. The nightmare that had woken me only added to the feeling of loss that I felt. After ten minutes had passed, I decided to take a bath. I quickly ripped my clothes off and turned the water on. Getting in, I hissed at how hot the water was. I refused to cool it down though, red skin was something I'd take, even if it wouldn't bring Gwyneth back.

I submerged myself in the water, letting it wash over my body. The burning sensation soon faded, leaving me numb. Finally resurfacing, I pushed my hair back and began to wash myself. Once that was done, I sat there thinking about everything I had seen in the time I'd spent with the Doctor. Death truly seemed to follow him like a shadow. There was no way to deny it. Yet, I enjoyed the adventures, the laughs, and the overall experience. Sighing, I got out the tub, looking down at my reddened skin. It would last for a while, not that it really mattered. I needed something to dull the pain I felt and it had helped just a bit. Once I had dried myself and put on clothes, I put on a smile and left the room hoping Rose or the Doctor wouldn't notice it was fake.

Halfway to the console room, the Tardis shuddered violently, almost throwing me to the floor. Once I had gathered my footing, I ran the rest of the way, and found my friends smiling at each other. "What happened?"

"We landed."

I rolled my eyes at Rose's obvious reply. I had already figured we'd landed since most of the landings were never smooth and there wasn't really anyone out in space that came after the Tardis. "Where?"

"Earth, London, you're home."

"Oh joy," I muttered flatly. The Doctor leaned against the Tardis while Rose walked out and looked around. After sharing a quick glance with the Doctor, I silently followed after her. I suppose it was nice to be home after all we'd seen. Besides, I did need to go back to my flat for some things, my medication specifically.

"How long have we been gone?"

"About twelve hours." I raised an eyebrow at him. Had it really been twelve hours since we'd last been home? It felt as if a year had flown by. Not quite believing the Doctor, but not wanting to question him, I shrugged and went along with his statement. We'd eventually find out whether or not it had been half a day.

"Oh. Right, I won't be long. I just need to see my mum. Are you coming Cerys or going home?"

"Uh, mum then my place."

"Great."

"What're you going to tell her?"

"I don't know? We've been to the year 5 billion and only been gone, what, twelve hours? No, I'll just tell her I spent the night at Cerys' or Shareen's. See you later. Oh, don't you disappear," Rose said, pointing at the Doctor before pulling me along with her. We ran up to the Tyler flat and walked in. "We're back." Rose placed her keys on the table. "I was with-" I glared at her before she bothered to add me to that sentence. "Shareen. She was all upset again. Are you in? So, what's been going on? How've you been?" She stared at her mother for a moment. The expression on the woman's face was of utter shock, something that had me questioning whether we had really been gone for a night or not. "What? What's that face for? It's not the first time I've stayed out all night." We watched as Jackie's mug fell from her hand and smashed on the floor.

"It's you."

"Of course it's us."

"Oh, my God. It's you. Oh my God," she cried before she pulled Rose into a hug. Letting go of her, she latched onto me. That was when I spotted the several missing person posters on the table. From Rose's expression, I could tell she'd noticed them as well.

Not a moment later, the Doctor barged into the flat, a sheepish expression on his face. "It's not twelve hours, it's twelve months. You've been gone a whole year. Sorry." I glared at him, not really surprised but still upset. I never wanted Jackie to go through something like this because of me and she had thanks to the Doctor's shoddy driving. Jackie glared at the man before dragging us to the living room.

"Sit down. Both of you." We listened and the Doctor went to stand behind us. Rose and I knew how she was those rare occasions when she was angry and we did not want to make it worse. Soon, there was a policeman standing in the living room. He was writing down notes as Jackie went on. "The hours I've sat here, days and weeks and months, all on my own. I thought you two were dead, and where were you? Travelling. What the hell does that even mean, travelling? That's no sort of answer." She yelled at us before crossing her arms and turning to the officer. "You ask them. They won't tell me. That's all they say. Travelling."

"That's what we've been doing, Jackie."

"Your passport's still in the bookcase and Rose's in the drawer?" The woman snapped. "It's just one lie after another." I sighed. We couldn't exactly tell her where we'd been, she'd never believe us.

"We meant to phone. We really did. We just… we forgot."

"What, for a year? You forgot for a year? And I am left sitting here. I just don't believe you. Why won't you tell me where you've been?"

I looked at the Doctor, catching his eye. I didn't know what to say to Jackie that would make her feel better but I was hoping he could. "Actually, it's my fault. I sort of, er, employed Cerys and Rose and my companions."

"When you say companions, is this a sexual relationship?" The officer asked. We all looked at each other before vehemently that it wasn't.

"Then what is it? Because you, you three waltzed in here all charms and smiles, and the next thing I know, they vanish of the face of the Earth!" Jackie then turned to the Doctor. "How old are you, then? Forty? Forty five? What, did you find them on the Internet? Did you go on-line and pretend you're a doctor?"

"I am a Doctor." While I applauded the Doctor for clarifying the fact, I knew it would do nothing to placate the angry mother before us. Sharing a quick glance with Rose, the two of us knew that his comment was the tipping point of her anger. Jackie didn't like being lied to and hated it when Rose and I were keeping things from her. While she understood in some cases, the fact that we'd disappeared for a year was enough for her to go on about it... not that I blamed her or anything.

"Prove it. Stitch this, mate!" She slapped the Doctor with all the force she could muster, which happened to be a good amount. Rose and I looked down, not wanting to incur her wrath. He stood there for a moment, eyes wide as he stared blankly into space. In that time, Rose had followed Jackie to the kitchen. The officer left, saying he would return, leaving the Doctor and me alone. Not really wanting to be there knowing Jackie would call for me next, I turned to the Doctor.

"Come on. I'm sure you don't want to stay here. Besides, Rose needs to talk to her mum anyway."

"What about you?"

"She'll catch me some other time." I stood and walked to the front door. When I didn't hear him following me, I turned to see he was in the same spot, with the same dazed expression. "Do you want another slap from her?" He shook his head. "Then come on." This time he followed.

We walked the four blocks in silence, the only noise between us being a sigh. When we reached my flat, I led him to the nearly bare living room and had him sit. Once he had, I quickly went to my mess of a room to locate my medication. After what seemed like forever, I finally found them hidden in a little nook that was covered by a mass of clothes. As I tucked two bottles into my jacket pocket, I felt a pair of eyes on me. Turning around, I saw the Doctor leaning against the door-frame. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"What's that for?"

"Insomnia," I quickly lied. While I was sure he knew it wasn't quite the truth, I hoped he remembered what I had told him last time he tried to force information out of me; I didn't want to tell him just how messed up I was. "It's not a big deal." With a shrug, I glanced around my room, trying to avoid eye contact.

"Are you all right?"

"Yep. Never better."

"For some reason, I don't believe you." I said nothing in hopes of him leaving the topic. "Your room's nice." I nodded. "Homey. You spend most of your time here?" I nodded again and then walked out of the room. The tension in the room made it feel as if the walls were closing in on me and I had to escape. I quickly led the way out of the apartment, not caring to lock the door; no one would break in seeing as I had a bit of a reputation but I soon heard the sonic screwdriver and knew the Doctor had locked the door. As we walked, I felt a hand grab mine. I tried to snatch it back but it was in an iron hold. I turned around and faced the Doctor, my eyes blazed in anger.

"Let go of me."

"What's wrong?" Obviously he hadn't remembered that time in the Tardis I asked him to respect my privacy. I clenched my jaw, wanting to say so much more than I should. Why couldn't he just understand that I wasn't ready to talk, that I would never really be?

"Why would I tell you?"

"I could help."

"Why do you even care? I- It doesn't matter!" My eyes widened at what I had almost said. He couldn't know how I really felt; I just wanted him to leave me alone. Why did he feel the need to pry, to try and help me. I didn't ask for it. Hell, why did he even care! I was a nobody, nothing of importance while he was some amazing alien who travel through time and space saving people who truly needed it. What did he possibly see in me?

"Do you honestly believe that? Cerys, I hear you screaming every night. I'm sure it's been keeping Rose up as well. I just want to help you."

I don't want your help. I've been managing on my own."

"Oh yes, sure you have. Would you stop being so stubborn and tell me what's wrong with you."

"Just let me go, please." The Doctor looked at my tear streaked face and drew me into a tight hug. I collapsed into him, quickly wrapping my arms around his waist. While I was incredibly irritated with him, I was also grateful that he'd embraced me. The tears would not stop and I didn't try to force them back. It was too late for that; the floodgates had opened.

"I'm sorry." I nodded and pulled away, watching in shock as he wiped away the last of my tears. Without a word, I turned around and began to walk back to the Powell Estates, with my hand still in the Doctor's.

After the ten minute walk back to Rose's we found her sitting outside. When she saw us, she stood and began to lead us up the staircase. If she saw our intertwined hands, she said nothing, something that made me very happy. I was in no mood to deal with her comments or questions. Silently, the three of us made our way to the roof, and after shutting the door behind us, Rose and I sat on the gravel and stared out at the skyline.

"I can't tell her," Rose practically yelled as she paced in front of us. I barely paid her movements mind, she wasn't exactly obstructing my view. We'd both spent a few days in the very spot whenever we wanted to actually talk so the skyline was heavily engrained in my mind. "I can't even begin. She's never going to forgive us. And we missed a year. Was it good?"

"Middling," was the Doctor's offhandish reply. I glanced at him to see his gaze was on our still intertwined hands. I'd honestly forgotten about it; it felt comfortable, right even. When our eyes met, the Doctor gave me a small smile and my hand a gentle squeeze. Returning his with a half-hearted smile, I returned my attention back to the pacing blonde in front of us.

"You're so useless."

"Well, if it's that much trouble, are you going to stay here now?"

"I don't know. We can't do that to her again, though."

"Well, she's not coming with us."

Rose and I laughed at the thought. Jackie was a mother hen and she didn't like the Doctor as it was. Besides, I was quite sure she wouldn't have liked the adventure and near death experiences. Her coming along would be a disaster. "No chance." I nodded, agreeing with my blonde friend. There was no way Jackie could come with us.

"I don't do families."

"Cerys and I are family."

"You two are different." I raised an eyebrow at him but remained silent. I was quite curious to know how exactly Rose and I were different but unlike him, I was willing to leave this as it was. There was also the fact that I knew he probably wouldn't tell me anyways.

"She slapped you!"

"Nine hundred years of time and space, and I've never been slapped by someone's mother."

I smirked. "First time for everything," I muttered, wondering if anyone else had probably slapped him around a bit. I couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of him getting hit by most of the women he encountered. He did seem to care very little for the emotions of others at times.

Since he was right beside me, the Doctor heard my comment and gave me a pointed if not playful glare. "Oi, you."

Luckily, Rose took his attention from me with her chortling. "Your face."

"It hurt!" he said covering his face with the hand that wasn't grasping mine. It confused me greatly as to why our fingers were still intertwined but I decided to just go along with it. He had his reasons and I for one was comforted by the gesture.

"You're so gay. Wait, when you say nine hundred years..."

"That's my age."

"You're nine hundred years old."

"Yeah."

"Mum was right. That is one _hell_ of an age gap." Rose stopped pacing and walked to the edge. I watched her from my seat, listening to them talk. "Every conversation with you just goes mental. The only one I can talk to is Cerys. We've seen stuff up there, the size of it, and we can't say a word. Aliens and spaceships and things, and we're the only people on planet Earth who knows they exist."

"Well at least we have each other, right?" I smiled softly, knowing that she and I could make it through Hell and back together. This was just one other thing we had that separated us from other people.

As she was going to respond, there was the sound of a horn and we watched in awe as a spaceship flew past us. We ducked; if we had remained standing, it would have probably taken one of us with it. A trail of black smoke was left in its wake as the ship continued towards the city. It just narrowly missed the Tower Bridge, weaving around St. Paul's, and then it backfired and made a spluttering sound before it fell into the Thames, hitting Big Ben. As it made impact, the Clock Tower loudly chimed. We stood, watching the black smoke rise into the air. We then looked at each other, smiling. "Oh, that's just not fair." The Doctor started laughing excitedly before he grabbed Rose's hand and the three of us ran to the scene.

By the time we'd made it to the general area, the roads were flooded with people and the army had closed off the roads leading to the crash site, not that I could blame them. In their eyes, we'd made first contact with aliens... well, the aliens crash landed. "We're blocked off."

"We're miles from the centre," I added. "The city's probably gridlocked." I took another quick look around. No one was going anywhere by car and it seemed as if no one wanted to. Where we were was where all the action was. "The whole of London most likely closing down."

"I know. I can't believe I'm here to see this. This is fantastic!"

"Is that your thing now? 'Fantastic'?" I smirked. The Doctor just rolled his eyes at me. He didn't really seem bothered by my quip, I suppose it was just the fact that I'd pointed it out. The man had said it more than a few times since our meeting and I felt it was starting to become a catchphrase of sorts.

"Did you know this was going to happen?" Rose questioned. The Doctor replied with a happy no. I heard Rose sigh before going on. "Do you recognize the ship?" Again her question elicited the same frustrating answer from the Time Lord. "Do you know why it crashed?" For the third time, his answer was a no, something that caused Rose to groan in irritation before folding her arms in front of her. "So glad we've got you."

"I bet you are. This is what I travel for, Rose and Cerys. To see history happening right in front of us." He was so excited and it kind of started to trickle down to us. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of aliens had arrived on Earth. It was quite nice not to see people running around screaming in fright for one thing. It wasn't normal, but they were all taking it in stride, which was something I was very proud of.

"Well, let's go see it. Never mind the traffic, we've got the Tardis," Rose suggested with a large grin.

"Better not. They've already got one spaceship in the middle of London. I don't want to shove another one on top." I nodded in agreement. People would be extra vigilant about things like that in such times and it would be a shame to lose the Tardis by doing something as stupid as moving her around in a high crisis time.

"Yeah, but yours looks like a big blue box. No one's going to notice."

"You'd be surprised. In times like this, everyone is watching."

"Exactly. Trust me. The Tardis stays where it is."

"So history's happening and we're stuck here."

"Yes, we are."

We looked out into the mass of heads, not really seeing anything from what had just occurred. "We could always do what everybody else does." The Doctor glanced at Rose a bit confused. "We could watch it on TV." He didn't look too excited about that but then again, he couldn't really do anything about it.

"Sounds good to me. Might not get everything but it'll be something." With that we decided to return to Rose's mine would have worked better, especially with the freedom to talk about whatever we wanted without prying ears, I lived a few blocks further from the centre than Rose did. The moment we walked through the door, we found that Jackie had thrown a welcome home party for us. She'd even bought wine and my favourite bottle of liquor, Jägermeister. Not saying much, the three of us plopped ourselves down on the couch, me joining only after I'd swiped my bottle from the kitchen counter.

The channel was tuned into BBC News 24 after we had finally gotten settled. "Big Ben destroyed as a UFO crash lands in central London. Police reinforcement are drafted in from across the country to control widespread panic, looting and civil disturbance. A state of national emergency has been declared. Tom Hitchenson is at the scene. The police are urging the public not to panic. There's a helpline number on the screen, right now if you're worried about friends or family." The channel was changed to AMNN. "The military are on the lookout for more spaceships. Until then, all flights in North American airspace have been grounded." The channel was again changed, much to my dismay. I wanted to learn as much as possible but the frequent changes barely helped.

"A body of some sort has been found inside the wreckage of the spacecraft." The channel was changed back to AMNN. "The President will address the nation live from the White House but the Secretary General has asked that people watch the skies." I groaned as the flat became crowded. I couldn't hear anything over the din and neither could the Doctor. I was growing more and more agitated by the second especially with the constant changing of the channel.

"Oi, I'm trying to listen," the Doctor snapped to the people who were talking a bit too loud. He was ignored for a moment but soon everyone had lowered their voices a few decibels and I was actually able to hear myself think.

"Oh, guess who asked me out. Billy Crewe," Jackie said to us, plopping down next to Rose a wine glass in hand. We nodded, not really listening.

"Brought to the nearest shore. Unconfirmed reports say that the body is of extra-terrestrial origin. An extraordinary event unfolding here live here in Central London. The body is being transferred to a secure unit mortuary, the whereabouts is yet unknown. The roads in Central London are being-" the channel was changed to Blue Peter, a baking show.

"And when you've stuck your fins on, you can cover the whole lot in buttercream." Irritated, I was about to snap at the Doctor but saw that he was wrestling with a toddler for the remote. I couldn't help the smile that came to my lips as I watched him. The moment I realised I was smiling though, it quickly vanished and I was completely confused as to why I had been. Children were not my forte and finding people with children adorable was not something that I cared about. Figuratively shaking the thought from my head, I decided to watch the stupid baking show. "Oh, look at that. Then ice it any colour you want. Here's one I made a little bit earlier. And look at that, your very own spaceship ready to eat. And for something a little extra special-" the channel was changed back to the news after he had retrieved it from the kid.

"Albion Hospital. We still don't know whether it's alive or dead. Whitehall is denying everything." The scene switched to outside of the hospital. "But the body has been brought here, Albion Hospital. The road's closed off. It's the closest to the river."

"Go on," the Doctor said to the child who then scurried off to his mum.

"I'm being told that General Asquith is now entering the hospital. The building's been evacuated. The patients have been moved out onto the streets. The police still won't confirm the presence of an alien body contained inside those walls."

The reporter was speaking from Downing Street, talking about something that I happened to miss as I zoned out. While this was exciting, I would very much rather to be there, seeing the alien rather than at home watching it on the telly and hearing second-hand and censored information. "On the monitoring of sugar standards in exported confectionary. With respect, hardly the most important person right now." I chuckled a bit and got up, deciding to go outside for air since it was way too crowded inside for me. Making sure to take my half empty bottle with me, I leaned against the railing and took in the fresh air, taking a swig every so often. A few minutes later, I heard someone leave the flat. I didn't bother to turn around, deciding that whoever it was wanted to be alone as well.

"And where to you think you're going?"

"Nowhere. It's just a bit human in there for me. History is happening and they're talking about where you can buy dodgy top-up cards for half price. I'm off to wander, that's all," I heard the Doctor reply. I smiled, knowing full well that he was going off to see the ship.

"Right. There's a spaceship on the Thames and you're just wandering." Rose obviously was thinking the same as me. I think he forgot that we knew him enough to know he was as curious as a cat. There was no way he could just sit around and let it be.

"Nothing to do with me. It's not an invasion. That was a genuine crash landing. Angle of descent, colour of smoke, everything. It's perfect."

"So?"

"So maybe this is it. First contact. The day mankind officially comes into contact with an alien race," the Doctor smiled. "I'm not interfering because you've got to handle this on your own. That's when the human race finally grows up. Just this morning you were all tiny and small and made of clay. Now you can expand. You don't need me. Go and celebrate history. Spend some time with your mum."

"Promise me you won't disappear?"

I faced them and watched as he patted down his jacket, looking for something. "Tell you what," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a key. "Tardis key. It's about time you had one. See you later." With that, the man sauntered off, most likely heading to his ship.

"Are you coming in, Cerys?"

"No. I think I want to go home. Mum's been giving me the evil eye all night."

"You sure? You seem to be a bit drunk." I waved her off, telling her I was fine to ease her worries. Seeming to placate her, Rose nodded. "Okay then. I'll stop by later?"

"Stay with your mum. I'll be fine," I answered as I began to walk -stumble- down the stairs. Instead of going home, I ran to the Tardis, a bad move on my part since it helped to upset my stomach but whatever. The Doctor seemed to be walking at a pretty leisurely pace so I reached it a minute before him. I stood there, my back against the door with a smirk when he finally showed up and saw me.

"What are you doing here?"

"Bored."

"You should be with your family."

"I don't have a family, not really anyways. Besides, Jackie's still upset with me." I watched as the Doctor thought about it. Sighing, he let me come along. A smile plastered my face as we entered the Tardis. Within a minute, the Tardis was in flight, not a very stable one either which aggravated my stomach even more. I knew that by the end of the night, I'd have a date with the toilet. The Doctor was banging on the console with a hammer much to my dismay. "Hey, don't do that."

"Don't tell me how to fly my ship."

"I'm not but I'm pretty sure hitting the console with a hammer is going to help." He shot me a glare and turned back to what he was doing. Then he kissed the hammer. I rolled my eyes and sat on the lone chair, waiting for us to land. When we did, we found ourselves in a storage room with barely any room to move. I watched as he used his sonic screwdriver to unlock the door. When it was opened, we stepped out. I immediately came to a stop when I saw we were in a room full of Red Berets, the Parachute Regiment. They stared at us, the Doctor pushing me behind him a bit. After a minute or so of awkward silence, they reached for their guns and aimed at us. Before a word could be spoken though, a scream pierced the air. The Doctor immediately grabbed my hand and began to run out of the room. "Defence plan delta! Come on! Move! Move!" he ordered as he led the men out of the room.

A while later, we found ourselves in the morgue. A young Asian woman was cowering behind a desk with a cut on her head.

"It's alive!" she gasped. I rushed over to her, trying to calm her down. Seeing a rag off to the side, I quickly grabbed it and began to clean her wound. It wasn't too bad, but I rather get it cleaned as she distracted.

"Spread out. Tell the perimeter it's a lockdown."

"My god. It's still alive." I gently shushed her, realising he was talking out of horror more than anything else. She might have actually started an autopsy on the poor thing. Still, that seemed unlikely since there was no blood on the table or floor, unless it didn't bleed.

"Do it!" the Doctor said before he joined me.

"What's your name?"

"Tosh."

"That's a nice name," I complimented as I added a bandage onto her cut. She winced a bit but that was all the response I received.

"Thank you. I swear it was dead."

"Coma, shock, hibernation, anything. What does it look like?" I nudged his side, my way of saying he was being insensitive. Before he could reply, there was the sound of metal clanging. "It's still here." He looked at me, his eyes telling me to stay with Tosh. I nodded, not planning on leaving her until she had calmed down. Luckily she was smart enough to remain silent. I watched as he made his way to where the noise came from, crawling on his hands and knees. "Hello," he said to whatever it was. Suddenly I saw a pig run out of the room on its hind legs, wearing a spacesuit. I blinked a few times, hoping my eyes weren't playing a trick on me. I looked up at the Doctor, before getting up. "Don't shoot." We ran to down the corridor, just as we were close enough, I heard the sounds of a gun being discharged. I stopped, not wanting to see what had happened. "What did you do that for? It was scared!" The Doctor bent down to comfort it. "It was scared." I turned away, not wanting to look at the poor thing. I've always had a soft spot for animals and this was an act punishable by death in my eyes. I didn't look at the Doctor as he picked up the animal and brought it back to the mortuary.

Tosh stood by, a confused expression littered on her face as the Doctor explained that it was just a regular pig. "I just assumed that's what aliens look like, but you're saying it's an ordinary pig from Earth."

"More like a mermaid. Victorian showmen used to draw the crowds by taking the skull of a cat, gluing it to a fish and calling it a mermaid. Now someone's taken a pig, opened up its brain, stuck bits on, then they've strapped it in that ship and made it dive bomb. It must've been terrified. They've taken this animal and turned it into a joke."

"That's horrible. When I find the person who did this, I'll-" I groaned. There was nothing I could do seeing how we didn't know who had put the poor animal through such torture. However, I was certain that when they were found, I would probably do something stupid and rash in my anger. I was never one to take the mistreatment of animals lightly. "Why would anyone do this?" The Doctor gave me no reply. Instead, he took my hand and led me out of the room and back to the Tardis. The moment the doors shut, he put her into flight, most likely returning to the Powell Estates.

"You all right?"

"No, I'm not. What that poor animal went through… nothing deserves that kind of treatment. Whoever did that was- is sick."

"I know, but whatever did that, was trying to draw attention away from themselves."

I stared at him for a moment, trying to push aside the emotional aspect of the situation. While it ached to do so, I knew it would only hinder the rational side of my brain and I really wanted to help the Doctor figure out who had done such a thing and why. "So it's an alien creating an alien to slip away."

"Exactly." The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled something out. "Here you go. You need one as well. Knowing you though, it won't be used much." I looked at the key he had placed in my hand. Looking back at him, I happily thanked him and after placing the chain around my neck, I followed him out the Tardis.

Outside, we found Rose with her arms folded, Mickey, and Jackie staring at us, although Jackie's expression was more wide eyed, fearful than anything else. I suppose I could understand why that was. Right after aliens crashed into Big Ben she discovers why her daughters had been missing, that they'd been travelling with an alien all along. I really couldn't fault her for her shock.

"All right, so I lied. I went and had to look. Cerys decided to tag along even though I told her to stay. But the whole crash landing's a fake. I thought so. Just too perfect. I mean, hitting Big Ben. Come on, so I thought, let's go have a look-"

"My mum's here," Rose stated, seeming to realise that the man hadn't even noticed Jackie's presence.

I watched as the Doctor looked from Rose to Jackie. "Oh, that's just what I need. Don't you dare make this place domestic." I rolled my eyes at his quip but remained silent. There was no need for me to say anything, at least it wouldn't have mattered.

"You ruined my life, Doctor. They thought she was dead. I was a murder suspect because of you," Mickey said angrily.

"You see what I mean? Domestic." I stifled a laugh seeing as it wasn't really appropriate. It was horrible that I did but I couldn't stand Mickey for the life of me and the way he acted the last time we saw him only made my disdain for him worse.

"I bet you don't even remember my name."

"Ricky," he quickly snapped at the boy.

"It's Mickey."

"No, it's Ricky."

"I think I know my own name."

"You _think_ you know your own name? How stupid are you?"

Seeing that Jackie had begun to back out of the Tardis, I moved to follow her. As I did so, I realised that Rose had noticed her mother's movements as well and before she could say anything to the woman, Jackie broke into a run, leaving us in the Tardis. "Mum, don't!" She turned to us. "Don't go anywhere. Don't start a fight!" With those words, she ran out herself. After a few minutes of awkward silence between the three of us, she finally returned. Her expression was slightly downcast but the moment she stood beside me, she turned her attention to the Doctor. "That was a real spaceship?"

"Yep."

"So it's all a pack of lies? What is it then? Are they invading?"

"Funny way to invade, putting the world on high alert," Mickey said, actually making sense to my surprise. All right, so it wasn't too surprising. I knew that he had some sort of a brain; although he was a mechanic, he was quite good with computers, especially hacking.

"Good point! So, what are they up to?"

I sat in the chair, my eyes following the Doctor's movements as he circled the console. It seemed as if he did that mainly out of boredom, but it could have been worry as well. Mickey watched looking more confused than anything. I knew it was a matter of time before he asked a stupid question. "So, what're you doing down there?"

"Ricky."

"Mickey."

"Ricky. If I was to tell you what I was doing to the controls of my frankly magnificent time ship, would you even begin to understand?"

"I suppose not."

"Well, shut it, then."

Mickey scowled and turned to Rose, ignoring me as usual. "Some friend you've got." As he said that, I went over to the Doctor, kneeling down beside him to watch what he was doing. The man gave me a quick smile before he returned to his task. I wanted to say something to him, but I didn't want to distract him. Either way, it was nice to be near him.

"He's just winding you up." They looked at each other for a moment. "I am sorry."

"Okay."

"I AM, though." Rose replied, trying to make him see that she had indeed missed him. She truly had, having broached the topic with me a few times although she knew I didn't care much for him. Still, she had listened to me whenever I went on about something that had happened and it was only fair I returned the gesture, even if I was reluctant to do so.

"I missed you." I rolled my eyes at their exchange. I wanted Rose to be happy and he did that for her but Mickey was someone I thought she'd get over after a while, not stay with him for as long as she had. Besides, I'd noticed that in terms of their relationship, Rose was content and comfortable, while Mickey really had his heart in it.

"So, er, in twelve months, have you been seeing anyone else?" Rose tentatively asked.

"No." A small smile played on my lips from his response. They hadn't officially broken up and it was nice to know he had at least stayed faithful to her, even with their relationship in limbo. Still though, I couldn't help but feel as if there was another reason as to why he hadn't moved on so to speak.

"Okay."

"Mainly because everyone thought I murdered you."

My smile faded as Rose's face fell. "Right."

"Did you seriously just say that?"

"So, now that you've come back, are you going to stay?" Mickey questioned, inching closer to her and ignoring what I had asked. I knew they were probably going to kiss so I turned my attention back to what the Doctor was doing. I still had no idea as to what it was, but at least I didn't have to watch them make out.

"Got it! Ha, ha!" The Doctor laughed as he suddenly pulled himself from under the console, causing me to jump slightly. I quickly backed up and stood, impatiently waiting for him to tell us what exactly he'd done. I was quite curious since he had been under there since Rose had gone after Jackie.

When he hadn't said anything, I decided to just ask him. "What'd you do?"

"Patched in the radar, looped it back to twelve hours so we can follow the flight of that spaceship." I walked over to him and leaned on his shoulder as I glanced at the monitor. It was supposed to show the ship's path but the screen was blank. When he realised that as well, the Doctor slammed his hand against the monitor. "Come on." When it finally worked, he shot me a quick smile before pointing at the diagram. "That's the spaceship on its way to Earth, see? Except. Hold on. See?"

"Wait, the ship came from Earth," I asked, slightly amazed by the effort the real aliens had put into the scheme. Still, it didn't make sense as to why they would do all of that. Sure it diverted the attention from them but in the end, it was discovered that the "alien" in the ship was nothing but an Earth animal.

"Yep. The spaceship did a slingshot around the Earth before it landed."

"What does that mean?" Rose asked, her attention finally moving from Mickey.

"It means it came from Earth in the first place. It went up and came back down. Whoever those aliens are, they haven't just arrived, they've been here for a while. The question is, what have they been doing?"

I shrugged, thinking about it. There had been no talk about aliens since we arrived or before the ship crashed into Big Ben. Their arrival was obviously something they wanted kept secret. What I was more curious about was their reasons for coming to Earth. It didn't make sense to me at all. I sighed, getting the Doctor's attention. "Maybe the crash was meant to cause a frenzy... lead to something bigger?" When no one responded, I quietly excused myself to my room. While I was sure the Doctor didn't want to be alone with Rose and Mickey, I was aware that they didn't really need me around, and in the end, the Doctor would figure things out.

Finally reaching my room, I plopped down onto the bed with a heavy sigh. My mind was racing as I tried to make sense of everything that had happened since Rose and I had begun travelling with the Doctor. My thoughts instantly went to Gwyneth and the pig. Tears prickled my eyes as I thought of how the innocents almost always ended up in the crossfire, always ended up dead, whether it was from my time with the Doctor or before we even knew he existed. I groaned, finally letting the happy façade fade; I was nowhere near happy. If I were to be honest, I was a mess. Along with the nightmares, the thoughts of inadequacy returned, as did the numbing feeling I'd felt for the majority of my life. Remembering that things I'd taken from my flat, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the two pill bottles. True I had my sleeping pills but I'd also brought my anti-depressants knowing it was only a matter of time before I would need them. At the bottom of that bottle, under a cotton ball, were two brand new blades. Taking in a deep breath, I debated whether or not I wanted to remove one. I wanted the numbness to go away but I didn't want to explain anything to Rose if she saw the scars, and I definitely didn't want to explain it to the Doctor. He was already asking me how I was whenever he had the opportunity and I doubt I would be able to look him in the eyes if he saw the aftermath of a "session". My method of coping would only make things worse for us all. Making my decision, I placed the bottles in between the mattress and the bedframe, knowing no one would go through my things.

Pulling myself up from the comfortable bed was a bit of a feat but when I finally managed, I decided to return to the console room. When I reached it, I found the Mickey and Rose channel hopping on the scanner. From the other side of the console, the Doctor glanced at me, his eyes scanning, looking for any sign of something being wrong. To dispel any worry, I quickly plastered a smile on my face, one I was sure looked incredibly forced. "Hey. Any progress?" The Doctor smiled at me and shook his head before he returned to what he was doing. I went and sat on the chair. I watched as Mickey pushed in between them.

"How many channels do you get?"

"All the basic packages."

"Do you get the sports channels?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Because that's all you can think about Mickey Smith, sports. Why don't you try asking something of substance? Or maybe, you should just keep quiet," I snapped. The three of them looked at me, well, Mickey glared, but said nothing. Rose looked back at the screen, hitting Mickey so that he did the same. She seemed to realise that there was something bothering me and her boyfriend's presence was only adding to my irritation. The Doctor on the other hand crossed his arms and stared at me for a while longer. I looked away, afraid to meet his gaze; I wasn't ready for him to question me. Besides, what could I tell him, that I could feel myself slowly slipping into a depressed state? That would go over horribly, especially if Rose knew. She already babied me enough.

"Yes, I get the football," he responded, finally looking away, averting his eyes back to the screen as he seemed to see something that piqued his interest. "Hold on, I know that lot." He pointed. I got up and stood by him so that I could see what he was talking about. I furrowed my brows in confusion as we watched a group of people walk down a corridor.

"Who are they?" Rose asked.

"UNIT. United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. Good people."

"How do you know them?"

"'Cos he's worked for them," Mickey smugly replied causing me to roll my eyes. He seemed so proud of himself for knowing something Rose and I didn't. "Oh yeah, don't think I sat on my backside for twelve months, Doctor. I read up on you. You look deep enough on the Internet or in the history books, and there's his name, followed by a list of the dead."

I looked at Mickey and then the Doctor. He met my eyes for a split second and then turned away with a smile plastered on his face. "That's nice. Good boy, Ricky," he said as if he were praising a dog. I couldn't help but grin at that. While Mickey thought he was being impressive, Rose and I were aware of the death thing... Clive had told us about it when we first met the Doctor and we had witnessed it ourselves. To me, it didn't matter. I wouldn't give up the travelling for anything.

"If you know them, why don't you go and help?"

"They wouldn't recognize me. I've changed a lot since the old days." The Doctor moved around the console, turning knobs, pulling levers, and pressing buttons. I watched him, again curious as to what he was doing. I knew he wasn't going to move the Tardis since everyone was in a tizzy and I knew he wouldn't really share, I decided to wait a bit to see what he had in store. "Besides, the world's on a knife-edge. There's aliens out there and fake aliens. We want to keep this alien out of the mix. I'm going undercover. And er, I'd better keep the Tardis out of sight." He turned to Mickey, catching his attention. "Ricky, you've got a car. You can do some driving."

"Where to?"

"The roads are clearing. Let's go and have a look at that spaceship." I smiled, excited once again. As much as I hated what they did to that poor pig, I wanted to check out the spaceship and who/what had caused such a commotion, I guess you could say the Doctor was rubbing off on me. As we began to exit the Tardis, I bumped shoulders with Rose, giving her a smile before letting her walk in front of me.

As we left the Tardis, I noticed the giant spotlight that was on us, as well as the armed men in black surrounding us. Smirking, more so out of amusement at the situation, I nudged the Doctor. "What were you saying about going undercover?"

"Do not move! Step away from the box and raise your hands above your heads," a voice said as police cars and armoured personnel carriers surrounded us. Red Berets ran towards us, guns in hand and ready to fire, at least that was my assumption. I crossed my arms and glared at the men, not seeing the need for so much heat. It wasn't like we were murderers or extremely dangerous criminals that'd escaped. From the corner of my eye, I saw Mickey take off in the opposite direction with some officers rushing after him. I rolled my eyes at his cowardice, not really surprised by the action but still disappointed that he'd only looked out for himself and hadn't even thought of Rose.

"Rose! Cerys!" I whipped my head around at the sound of her voice and saw that she was running towards us. Before she even came close, two men grabbed her arms and held her back. That didn't keep her from putting up a fight in her urge to get to us; the two men were struggling to keep a grasp on her. "Girls!"

"Raise your hands above your head," the same officer repeated. "You are under arrest." My arms stayed crossed. If they were really going to arrest us, they would have already done it, at least from my experience. I watched as the Doctor smiled like an idiot and happily raised his hands while Rose was more hesitant but did so as well.

"Take me to your leader," the Doctor said. I rolled my eyes at him before, punching his arm; now was not the time to act like an idiot. He shot me an irritated scowl before he lowered an arm so that he could rub the one that I hit.

"Seriously? Do you _want_ to get shot?!"

"I'm just having some fun."

"Yeah, it's all fun until you're dead on a slab," I retorted as we were piled into a police car, me going in first and the Doctor last. Considering how he was acting, I was kind of glad Rose was the buffer. I'd have probably hit him a few more times, especially if he kept saying things that led him closer to being a lab rat (not that I thought he'd let that happen to himself) but still.

"Keep the domestics to yourself."

I sat forward and glared at him, slowly feeling my anger begin to grow. "I beg your pardon? You're the reason they're here, space man."

"Oi, no one said you had to come along."

"Oh, you wanted me to come along. You want someone to show off to."

"That's what Rose's for," he said as if it were a fact. The anger I'd been feeling with him seemed to spike and I noticed that Rose was shaking her head as if she couldn't believe he'd said something that stupid.

"Oh, so I'm just the third wheel?" I asked, seething. My anger was well past the 'safety zone' and I knew it was only a matter of time before I said something stupid myself and as much as I wanted to, I knew it wasn't right nor would it make me feel better.

"I didn't say that."

"You meant it."

"I didn't. I was just saying-" I held my hand up, cutting him off. I didn't want to hear anything else from him; I'd had enough and to be honest, my feelings were hurt, as much as I didn't want to admit it. I felt bad for Rose, seeing as she _was_ seated between us. I glanced at her and saw that she was incredibly annoyed. While I wasn't sure what had irritated her, I tapped her hand, and gave it a quick squeeze as a silent apology. She squeezed back, letting me know that she had forgiven me.

The car ride was silent for the first five minutes since none of us wanted to speak, at least me not to the Doctor and I think he'd realised that I'd shoot down any attempt at him speaking, at least to me. Seeming to have enough of the silence, it was Rose who thankfully broke the silence. "This is a bit posh. If I knew it was going to be like this, being arrested, I would have done it years ago." I chuckled at her. This was nowhere close to being arrested; this was an escort. We'd have on handcuffs if we were being taken in.

"We're not being arrested, we're being escorted."

"Where to?"

"Where'd you think?" Downing Street," the Doctor laughed happily. It seemed as if he were getting what he wanted; he'd get to see his old friends as well as do some more investigating. I figured I'd just go off on my own and see if I could find things out myself; it was either that or sit around doing nothing until the Doctor had solved the 'mystery'. It wasn't like she was needed; he had Rose.

"You're kidding."

"I'm not."

"10 Downing Street?" Rose was as excited as a kid in a candy shop and just as disbelieving as one would be if told they could have as much as they wanted, not that I could blame her. It was the Prime Minister's office and a source of so much history, not that Rose was interested in that bit.

"That's the one."

"Oh, my God. I'm going to 10 Downing Street? How come?"

"I hate to say it, but Mickey was right." He scratched the back of his neck, a sheepish expression crossing his face. "Over the years I've visited this planet a lot of times, and I've been, er, noticed."

"Now they need you?"

"Like it said on the news. They're gathering experts in alien knowledge. And who's the biggest expert of the lot?"

"Patrick Moore?" I snorted at her teasing. It was something I might have said if I were talking to him and it was nice to see her deflate his massive ego a bit. It had become a slight annoyance to me... although that could probably be due to the fact that I'd been upset with him for a while.

"Apart from him?"

"Oh, don't you just love it."

"I'm telling you. Lloyd George, he used to drink me under the table." Rose laughed at him and I almost did as well, having that visual in my mind. I hadn't even thought about the Doctor drinking and now that we knew he did, I was curious to know how much alcohol it would take to get him drunk. Whenever I decided to speak to him again, I wanted to find out. "Who's the Prime Minister now?"

"How should we know? We missed a year."

When we finally reached Downing Street, the Doctor quickly exited the car, waving and putting on a show for the cameras. I rolled my eyes and covered my face as Rose laughed at him a bit before staring off into the sea of journalists. Seeing that she needed a bit of a push, I grabbed her hand and pulled her along as she went on to 'oh my god'. She was still in awe at the fact she was at 10 Downing Street.

Entering the building, we were directed to a waiting room that was full of people. I couldn't help but wonder who all the people were and what their positions were; not everyone could be someone important. As people watched, I was an older woman with mousy brown hair show her ID to an armed officer before she walked in. She skulked around the room, seeming to be looking for someone or hiding from someone. After a few minutes, a man came up and called for our attention. "Ladies and gentlemen, can we convene? Quick as we can, please. It's this way on the right, and can I remind you ID cards are to be worn at all times." As everyone began to enter the room he'd pointed out, the man came over to us and handed one to the Doctor. "Here's your ID card. I'm sorry, your companions don't have clearance."

"I don't go anywhere without them," he said, pinning the ID to his jacket.

"You're the Code Nine, not them. I'm sorry, Doctor." He seemed a little worried that he had the wrong person so he went to specify. "It is the Doctor, isn't it?" The Doctor gave him a curt nod. "They'll have to stay outside."

"They're staying with me."

"Look, even I don't have the clearance to go in there. I can't let them in and that's a fact."

"It's all right. You go," Rose told him. He looked at her and then me almost searching for us to tell him to bring us along. Our eyes met for a second before I looked away, crossing my arms. I was still upset and while I knew I was being petty, I didn't care. Honestly, I didn't mind not being a part of the secret meeting. The experts could handle the situation and maybe with them all together, it would be solved a lot quicker.

The woman I had watched enter earlier came over, looking at us. "Excuse me. Are you the Doctor?"

"Sure?" Rose nodded.

"Not now. We're busy," the man, who I figured was the secretary, snapped. "Can't you go home?"

I glared at the man but remained silent. It wasn't that I had nothing to say, but the fact that I really didn't want to bring attention to myself. Amazingly, the woman ignored the secretary and turned to the Doctor, trying to get his attention. "I just need a word in private."

"I suppose so. Don't get into any trouble," the Doctor said, almost hesitantly, before he walked into the room. I rolled my eyes at his blatant rudeness and apologized to the woman.

"He wasn't brought up with manners."

The secretary looked between the older woman and me before he (again) rudely addressed her. "You haven't got clearance. Now leave it." He turned to Rose and me. "I'm going to have to leave you both with security."

"It's all right," the woman said, interrupting the secretary. "I'll look after them. Let me be of some use." Before the man could respond, she latched onto our arms and dragged us out of the lobby. "Walk with me. Just keep walking." We kept going until we reached the entrance hall. "That's right. Don't look round." When we were a good distance away, she turned to us and flashed an ID card. "Harriet Jones, MP Flydale North." Rose and I shared a quick glance, curious as to what the woman wanted. We both knew she was interested in the Doctor, as to why was the one thing we were soon to discover. "This friend of yours, he's an expert, is that right? He knows about aliens?"

"Why do you want to know?" Rose asked. With that question Harriet began to cry. I awkwardly patted her shoulder, unsure on how to handle a crying woman until she had calmed down. She quickly thanked me before she continued down the hall, leaving Rose and me to follow her until we reached the Cabinet Room.

"They turned the body into a suit. A disguise for the thing inside!" By the looks we gave her, she must have figured we thought she was mad. When she began to defend herself, I raised my hands in surrender and Rose decided to tell her that we understood.

"It's all right. I believe you. It's- it's alien. They must have some serious technology behind this. If we could find it, we could use it." Rose began to look around while I continued to comfort Harriet. As she opened a closet, the body of a man fell out. I stood and walked over, looking at it horrified. I mean, the aliens were already on my shit list after what they did to the pig, but I understood why they did it. As for killing the man, I couldn't think of anything other than he stood in their way.

"Oh, my god! Is that the-"

Before Rose could finish her sentence, the secretary entered the room. "Harriet, for God's sake. This has gone beyond a joke. You cannot just wander." He stopped scolding her when he saw the crumpled body on the floor. "Oh, my god. That's the Prime Minister!" My eyes widened at his words. The aliens had killed the Prime Minister, that made sense. With him gone, they could do whatever they pleased, especially if they were using bodies as suits. In the right body, they'd have one of their own to be acting Prime Minister until they were discovered. Although, hiding a body in a cupboard wasn't the best idea.

"Oh! Has someone been naughty?" a stout blonde woman asked as she slowly walked into the room, closing the door behind her. Everything about her screamed danger to me and the evil glint in her eyes did nothing to deter the thought that she had something to do with what had happened. I quickly grabbed Rose's arm and pulled her back, trying to get us as far from the woman as we could without her realising.

"That's impossible. He left this afternoon. The Prime Minister left Downing Street. He was driven away!" the man said ignorantly. It was as if he couldn't believe that his boss was lying on the floor dead, even with the body in plain view. I watched as she smiled at him, as if she were taking pleasure in his disbelief. Maybe she was; she seemed like the type.

"And who told you that, hmm? Me," she admitted as she reached for her hairline. A blue light filled the room and she began to unzip the skin she was in and remove it, much to my disgust. When the skin was gone, a green monster stood in her place. It had big black eyes, a large silver-ish collar, sharp as knives nails, a bit of a stomach, and stood at about seven feet. Before any of us could blink, she grabbed hold of the man's neck and pinned him against the wall, digging her claws into him, drawing blood. The three of us stared at the creature in shock and horror. We watched her kill the man until…

TO BE CONTINUED


	8. World War Three

**23/01/2016**

* * *

As the creature was engulfed in some sort of electrical current, the man fell to the ground with a soft thud. We took the opportunity to run. Upon getting halfway down the hall, Harriet stopped, looking a bit distraught. "No, wait. They're still in there. The emergency protocols. We need them." I turned to her in disbelief. We were about to be murdered and she was worried about stupid protocols. She raced back but quickly turned around as the green monster barrelled into view. Wanting to get as far away from them as possible, the three of us took off in a mad dash, going through various rooms in the hopes of losing the green monsters.

The running came to an end we came to locked door. Rose tried to open it, to no avail, while I searched for something to defend us against the alien. Just as the aliens came into views, the elevator dinged. I looked up and saw the Doctor standing there with his hands behind his back and a smug smile on his face. "Hello!" He caught my eye for a moment before he looked away, pressing his sonic screwdriver against the panel. As he did that, Harriet and Rose pulled me down the corridor. I was slightly grateful for his presence since he had distracted the creature enough for us to make our escape.

After a bit more running, we found ourselves in a large sitting room. There was a large settee, drinks cabinet, and a folding screen by the window to keep out the draughts. "Hide!" Rose exclaimed as she ran behind the cabinet. Harriet opted for the screen and I ran to the curtains. Just then, the alien we'd encountered entered the room.

"Oh, such fun. Little human children, where are you? Sweet little humey-kins, come to me. Let me kiss you better. Kiss you with my big, green lips." I scowled in disgust. Who in their right mind would want to go anywhere near the thing? My heartbeat quickened when the curtain suddenly moved. Thinking it had found me, I prepared to defend myself. Much to my relief, it was just Rose. We shared a small smile and grabbed each other's hand, hoping we wouldn't be found.

It seemed as if no time passed when I heard two sets of feet enter the room. If there were more of them, then we were screwed. "My brothers." I glanced at Rose who's worried expression mirrored mine. There was no way we would be able to slip past three of them, especially since we had such a difficult time getting away from the first, and were still found.

"Happy hunting?"

"It's wonderful. The more you prolong it, the more they stink."

"Sweat and fear."

"I can smell an old girl. Stale bird and brittle bones."

"And two ripe youngsters, all hormones and adrenalin. Fresh enough to bend before they snap," the female said as she pulled back the curtain. Rose screamed and I jumped in front of her. As silly as it might have sounded, I truly rather she escape; she had more to live for. "Oh, look at this. Such an endearing trait. This one will be last," she said as she reached for me. Just then, Harriet jumped from her hiding place.

"No! Take me first! Take me!" I glanced at her in admiration and some disappointment. I was content to die for them- Rose- to live. I didn't want Harriet for give up her life for us. The creatures began to move towards her but before they had made any real distance, the Doctor charged in with a fire extinguisher and quickly sprayed them.

"Out, with me!" Rose and I pulled the curtain over the female alien before running to the Doctor. We shared a smile of relief as Harriet joined us. A moment passed before the Doctor seemed to realise that Harriet was with us. "Who the hell are you?"

"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North."

"She almost died to save us, Doctor," Rose piped up.

"Well then, nice to meet you."

"Likewise." The Doctor shook the extinguisher before tossing it to one of the aliens when it had been used up. Without a word, we all raced into the corridor. I wanted to get as far away from those creatures as I could. It wasn't that their appearance was frightening but that they were probably the most dangerous aliens we'd encountered so far. It was both exhilarating and daunting.

"We need to head to the Cabinet Room."

"The Emergency Protocols are in there. They give instructions for aliens."

"Harriet Jones, I like you."

"And I like you," she replied.

"That's great but we still have those things chasing us," I snapped before I really took off, leading them back to the Cabinet Room. I couldn't understand why the Doctor's statement irritated me, but I wanted to get this adventure over with as quickly as possible so that I could return to the comfort and solitude of my room.

As we ran, three of the creatures barrelled after us. When we finally reached it, the Doctor soniced the door and grabbed a bottle from the side table and stood in the doorway as they approached. "One more move and my sonic device will triplicate the flammability of this alcohol. Whoof, we all go up. So back off." The creatures took a step back into the outer office, an action that seemed to placate the humanoid alien with us.. "Right then. Question time. Who exactly are the Slitheen?"

"They're aliens," Harriet stated.

"Yes. I got that, thanks."

"Who are you, if not human?" the Slitheen asked the Doctor. I stood back, deciding that I needed to sit. All the running had tired me out a bit... and I didn't want to be too close to the door. I had no idea what the Doctor was planning but whatever it was, he'd be quite obvious with it.

"Who's not human?"

"He's not human."

Harriet stared at Rose with wide eyes when she learned that fact. I let out a small amused chuckle. I suppose to most he seemed like any normal bloke. It was interesting. He did seem to act human on most occasions, although there were other times where it was blatant he wasn't one of us. Still, besides the fact he looked like us, he did a pretty good job passing for a human, even though I was quite sure it wasn't a conscious or intentional thin. "He's not human?"

"Can I have a bit of hush?"

"Sorry."

"So, what's the plan?"

"But he's got a Northern accent."

"Lots of planets have a north."

"I said hush." Both Rose and Harriet quickly apologised. Satisfied, the Doctor returned his attention back to the Slitheen. "Come on. You've got a spaceship hidden in the North Sea. It's transmitting a signal. You've murdered your way to the top of government. What for, invasion?"

"Why would we invade this god-forsaken rock?"

"Then something's brought the Slitheen race here. What is it?"

"Slitheen is not our species. Slitheen is our surname. Jocrassa Fel Fotch Pasameer-Day-Slitheen at your service."

"So, you're family."

"A family business," Jocrassa proudly replied.

"Then you're out to make a profit. How can you do that on a 'god-forsaken rock'?"

"Ah, excuse me?" Another interrupted. "Your device will do what? Triplicate the flammability?"

"Is that what I said?" the Doctor asked. I rolled my eyes at him. Of course he'd say that. The man could be utterly thick at times. If he didn't think of something soon we'd all be Slitheen food, something I had many objections to. It wasn't the way I wanted to go. But still, I trusted the Doctor enough not to say anything.

"You're making it up."

He shrugged. "Ah, well! Nice try. Harriet, have a drink. I think you're going to need it." He tried to hand it to her but she was clutching a red box.

"You pass it to the left first."

"Sorry."

Rose took it from him. "Thanks."

"Now we can end this hunt with a slaughter."

"Don't you think we should run?" Rose asked as if it were obvious.

Instead of answering, the Doctor crossed his arms. "Fascinating history, Downing Street. I'm sure you know all about it Cerys." I rolled my eyes at him. "Two thousand years ago, this was marsh land. 1730, it was occupied by a Mister Chicken. He was a nice man. 1796, this was the Cabinet Room. If the Cabinet's in session and in danger, these are about the four most safest walls in the whole of Great Britain. End of lesson." I watched as he lifted a small panel by the door and pressed the button. Within mere seconds, metal shutters covered the windows and doors. "Installed in 1991. Three inches of steel lining every single wall. They'll never get in."

"And how do we get out?"

"Ah." I stood and began to walk around the room. Tears began to well up and my anger seemed to boil over. I wanted to leave the room, to get away from everything but there was no real way of getting out of there. We were stuck and there was nothing we could do about it. It was either stay in the room or go outside and die. As I wiped away a stray tear, I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned into the body. Half of me wanted it to be the Doctor but the other didn't. To my happiness, it was Rose.

"We'll get out of here. I know we will."

"I don't care about that," I whispered. I could see the Doctor curiously watching us and I really didn't want him to know what we were talking about. It was bad enough I was about to spill some things to my best friend. "It's just so much. Rose, it seems as if everything is crashing down on me. I thought I was fine but I'm not. It's coming back and I don't know if it'll go away." I looked up at my best friend and saw the worry in her eyes. I was normally stronger, never admitting anything but here I was dumping my emotions onto her. She had enough to worry about.

"I'm here for you and I'm sure the Doctor is too."

I quickly shook my head. "He can't know. He'll leave me behind."

"No, he wouldn't. I wouldn't let him," she smiled. I nodded and returned the smile as I thanked her. Hearing the sound of something moving across the floor, we turned to see the Doctor dragging the secretary's body into a store room, the same one the Prime Minister was in.

"What was his name?"

"Who?"

"This one. The secretary or whatever he was called."

"I don't know. I talked to him. I brought him a cup of coffee. I never asked his name." Harriet seemed guilty when she admitted that. I felt it as well. I'd spoken to him and it wasn't too much to ask, but I hadn't. It was something I notice the Doctor did a lot and I could understand why. The adventures were dangerous and survival wasn't guaranteed. People always ended up dying and knowing their names meant that they'd always be remembered.

"Sorry," he said to the body before getting up and leaving the closet. "Right, what have we got? Any terminals, anything?"

"No. This place is antique. What I don't get is, when they killed the Prime Minister, why didn't they use him as a disguise?" Rose asked.

"He's too slim. They're big old beasts. They need to fit inside big humans." He walked around running the sonic screwdriver on the walls.

"But the Slitheen are about eight feet. How do they fit inside?"

"That's the device around their necks. Compression field. Literally shrinks them down a bit. That's why there's all that gas. It's a big exchange."

"Wish I had a compression field. I could fit a smaller size." I nudged her, shaking my head at her ill timed joke. People had died and it wasn't the smartest move on her end.

"Excuse me, people are dead! This is not the time for making jokes."

"Sorry. You get used to this stuff when you're friends with him," Rose apologized.

"Well that's a strange friendship."

"Harriet Jones. I've heard that name before. Harriet Jones. You're not famous for anything, are you?" the Doctor questioned.

"Oh, hardly."

"Rings a bell. Harriet Jones?"

"Lifelong backbencher I'm afraid, and a fat lot of use I'm being now. The Protocols are redundant. They list the people who could help and they're all dead downstairs."

"Hasn't it got, like, defence codes and things? Couldn't we just launch a nuclear bomb at them?" I smirked at Rose. Leave it to her to choose something that could leave more than the Slitheen dead. I watched as the Doctor stood there, listening to them talk and thinking.

"You're a very violent young woman."

"Thank Cerys." I lightly punched her arm and moved back to the chair. "Besides, I'm serious. We could."

"Well, there's nothing like that in here. Nuclear strikes do need a release code, yes, but it's kept secret by the United Nations."

"Say that again," the Doctor said, moving to the table.

"What, about the codes?"

"Anything. All of it."

"Well, the British Isles can't gain access to atomic weapons without a Special Resolution from the UN."

I stood and moved to lean on the wall. As Harriet finished her statement, I snorted bring the attention of everyone to me. "As if that's stopped them before."

"Exactly, given our past record. And I voted against that, thank you very much. The codes have been taken out of the government's hands and given to the UN. Is it important?"

"Everything's important."

"If we only knew what the Slitheen wanted. Listen to me. I'm saying Slitheen as if it's normal."

"What do they want, though?"

"Well, they're just one family, so it's not an invasion. They don't want Slitheen World."

"They want to make money," I said, interrupting the Doctor. He nodded in agreement and then motioned for me to continue. "Maybe they need something, something that can only be found on Earth. I mean, we have some things that are only found on our planet."

"Like what, gold? Oil? Water?"

"You're very good at this."

"Thank you."

The Doctor stared at her for a moment. "Harriet Jones. Why do I know that name?" Before he could continue, Rose's phone beeped alerting us all of a text message.

"Oh, that's me."

"But we're sealed off. How did you get a signal?"

"He zapped it. Super phone."

Harriet turned to the Doctor, a hopeful expression on her face. "Then we can phone for help. You must have contacts."

"Dead downstairs, yeah."

"It's Mickey."

"Oh, tell your stupid boyfriend we're busy."

"Yeah, he's not so stupid after all," Rose said as she held up her phone. The screen showed a picture of an electrocuting Slitheen. He must have taken the picture when the one with us was going through the same thing. Rose quickly called him, asking him about it. "Is she alright though?" I instantly knew she was asking about her mum. "Don't put her on, just tell me." Mickey must have answered but I was unsure since after she had asked, the Doctor snatched the phone from Rose's hand.

"Is that Ricky? Don't talk. Just shut up and go to your computer." The Doctor was quiet for a moment, listening to him speak. "Mickey the Idiot, I might just choke before I finish this sentence, but, er, I need you." That seemed to have gotten Mickey to do what the Doctor asked. The Doctor removed the phone from his ear and plugged it into the conference phone speaker. "Say again."

"It's asking for the password."

"Buffalo. Two F's, one L."

"So, what's that website?" I heard Jackie ask in the distance.

"All the secret information known to mankind. See, they've known about aliens for years. They just kept us in the dark." Well of course they would, why would the government tell the world of the existence of aliens? It'd cause panic.

"Mickey, you were born in the dark."

Rose glared at the Doctor. "Oh, leave him alone."

"Thank you. Password again."

"Just repeat it every time."

"Big Ben- why did the Slitheen go and hit Big Ben?"

"You said to gather the experts, to kill them."

"A lot would've gathered for a weather balloon. You don't need to crash land in the middle of London."

"The Slitheen are hiding, but they put the entire planet on Red alert. What would they do that for?"

"They want the Red Alert," I replied. " If everyone is panicked, they can get just about anything they want."

"Oh, listen to them," Jackie grumbled.

"At least we're trying!"

"Well, I've got a question, if you don't mind. Since that man walked into our lives, I have been attacked in the streets. I have had creatures from the pits of hell in my own living room, and my daughters disappeared of the face of the Earth."

"I told you what happened."

"I'm talking to him. 'Cos I've seen this life of yours, Doctor and maybe you get off on it, and maybe you think it's all clever and smart, but you tell me. Just answer me this. Are my daughters safe?"

"We're fine," I piped up.

Jackie went on as if she hadn't heard me. "Are they safe? Will they always be safe? Can you promise me that?" The Doctor was quiet for a moment, looking at us. "Well, what's the answer?"

"We're in," Mickey said loudly. He had probably taken the phone back from her. His interruption had also saved the Doctor from answering Jackie, something I was very relieved of. I wasn't sure as to why, but I didn't want to know what his response would be. Rose and I both knew the dangers of travelling with the Doctor, and he was aware of that. I wasn't sure if he was going to lie or tell Jackie the truth.

"Now then, on the left at the top, there's a tab, an icon. Little concentric circles. Click on that."

"What is it?"

"The Slitheen have got a spaceship in the North Sea and it's transmitting that signal. Now hush, let me work out what it's saying."

"He'll have to answer to me one day," Jackie muttered from a small distance.

"Hush!"

"It's some sort of message."

"What's it say?"

"Don't know. It's on a loop, keeps repeating." I then heard a doorbell ring from over the phone. "Hush!" I rolled my eyes at the Doctor as I heard Mickey send Jackie to go answer it, something I thought was pretty stupid but I said nothing. "It's beaming out onto space, who's it for?" In the distance I heard Jackie scream. As she got closer to the phone, I heard her say something about a Slipeen. I looked at the Doctor and Rose. Rose was terrified; the three of us knew that they'd been found.

"They've found us," Mickey said.

"Mickey, I need that signal."

"Never mind the signal, get out! Mum, just get out! Get out!"

"We can't. It's by the front door." Mickey was silent all except for his breathing. "Oh, my God, it's unmasking. It's going to kill us."

"There's got to be some way of stopping them!" Harriet exclaimed facing the Doctor. "You're supposed to be the expert, think of something!"

"I'm trying!"

"I'll take it on, Jackie. You just run. Don't look back. Just run!" We then heard the sound of the door breaking.

"That's my mother."

"Right, if we're going to find their weakness, we need to find out where they're from. Which planet." The Doctor made his way to the end of the table. Rose and Harriet followed him while I turned my body to face him. "So, judging by their basic shape, that narrows it down to five thousand planets within travelling distance. What else do we know about them? Information!"

"They're green."

"Yep, narrows it down."

"Good sense of smell."

"Narrows it down."

"They can smell adrenalin." I nodded at what both women said. They had a wonderful sense of smell and had been able to smell us. I couldn't help but wonder where they came from. While Rose and I haven't encountered too many aliens, I still couldn't help but wonder if we had encountered a similar species. It seemed as if we had, but the memory kept escaping me. Shrugging it off, I returned to the conversation.

"The pig technology."

"Narrows it down."

Realising something, I spoke up. "You said that their spaceship has a slipstream engine?"

"Narrows it down."

"It's getting in!" Mickey yelled.

"They hunt like it's a ritual."

"Narrows it down."

"Wait a minute." Our heads snapped to Harriet. "Did you notice? When they fart, if you'll pardon the word, it doesn't just smell like a fart, if you'll pardon the word, it's something else. What is it? It's more like, er-"

"Bad breath!" Rose excitedly added.

"That's it!"

I looked at the Doctor a thought quickly coming to me. It all sounded so familiar and while I didn't know why, I knew it was something that could help. "Wait, wouldn't that be calcium decay?"

He smiled. "Now, that narrows it down!"

"We're getting there Mum!"

"Too late."

"Calcium phosphate. Organic calcium. Living calcium. Creatures made out of living calcium. What else? What else? Hyphenated surname. Yes! That narrows it down to one planet. Raxacoricofallapatorius!" The Doctor said excitedly.

"Oh, yeah, great. We could write 'em a letter," Mickey sarcastically replied.

"Get into the kitchen!"

"My God, it's going to rip us apart!"

"Calcium, weakened by the compression field. Acetic acid. Vinegar!"

"Just like Hannibal!"

"Just like Hannibal. Mickey, have you got any vinegar?"

"How should I know?"

"It's your damn kitchen," I shouted in disbelief. How the hell could someone live somewhere without knowing where all their belongings were.

""Cupboard by the sink, middle shelf," Rose told him. I looked at her and said nothing. She was probably the one who put it there. He relied on her way too much for his own good. We'd only just gotten back. He had a year to move things around and he hadn't. I couldn't help but wonder how long the vinegar had been sitting in the cupboard.

"Oh, give it here." Jackie took the phone. "What do you need?"

"Anything with vinegar!"

We could hear thing moving around as she held onto the phone. "Gherkins. Yeah, pickled onions. Pickled eggs."

The Doctor turned to Rose with a slightly disgusted look on his face, an expression I mirrored. "And you kiss this man?" Rose rolled her eyes at the question. It was a valid point. I could only hope he brushed every time he ate one of the aforementioned vinegar products.

"Hannibal?"

"Hannibal crossed the Alps by dissolving boulders with vinegar," Harriet explained.

"Oh. Well, there you go then." We each picked up a glass of port and toasted the moment, happy we had saved Mickey and Jackie. As we downed our drinks, we heard the TV in the phone's background.

"Listen to this," Mickey said. The voices got louder, telling us that he put the phone to the speaker. I moved closer to the table so that I could hear better. The action in turn brought me closer to the Doctor, something that was more comforting than I'd like to say, especially when his hand grasped mine for a quick moment. I tried not to react to it, bit I found myself staring at him from the corner of my eye, at least until Rose caught me. Then my eyes were solely on the phone.

"Our inspectors have searched the sky above our heads and they have found massive weapons of destruction capable of being deployed within forty-five seconds."

I looked at the Doctor, not caring if Rose saw, my face scrunched in confusion. There'd been no search, nor were there any weapons of mass destruction. He didn't look at me but he whipped his head to the speaker, leaning over it with Rose and Harriet. "What?"

"Our technicians can baffle the alien probes, but not for long. We are facing extinction, unless we strike first. The United Kingdom stands directly beneath the belly of the mother ship. I beg of the United Nations, pass an emergency resolution. Give us the access codes. A nuclear strike at the heart of the beast is our only chance of survival because from this moment on it is my solemn duty to inform you planet Earth is at war."

"He's making that up, right?" I asked him.

"There's no weapons up there, there's no threat. He just invented it," the Doctor answered, confirming my thoughts.

"Do you think they'll believe him?"

"They did last time," Rose deadpanned.

"That's why the Slitheen went for spectacle. They want the whole world panicking, because you lot, you get scared, you lash out."

"They release the defence codes-"

"And the Slitheen go nuclear," the Doctor finished for Rose.

"But why?"

The Doctor walked over to the panel, opening the metal shutters. "You get the codes, release the missiles, but not into space because there's nothing there." The small blonde woman walked to the head of the group as the Doctor spoke. "You attack every other country on Earth. They retaliate, fight back. World War Three. Whole planet gets nuked."

"And we can sit through it safe in our spaceship waiting in the Thames. Not crashed, just parked. Only two minutes away."

"But you'll destroy the planet, this beautiful place. What for?"

"Profit. That's what the signal is beaming into space. An advert."

"So you'd destroy a whole planet just for profit? You're mad, the lot of you!" I yelled, taking a step towards her. "You have no right. There are people here; they aren't just things you can remove without consequence!"

The woman looked at me, scowling as if my very existence was beneath her. After staring each other down for a moment, she returned her attention to the Doctor, acting as if she hadn't heard a word I said. "The sale of the century. We reduce the Earth to molten slag, then sell it piece by piece. Radioactive chucks, capable of powering every cut-price star liner and budget cargo ship. There's a recession out there, Doctor. People are buying cheap. This rock becomes raw fuel."

"At the cost of five billion lives."

"Bargain."

"Are you kidding me? You're about to murder people!" I took another threatening step towards her but felt a hand grab mine. I looked down and saw that the Doctor had intertwined his fingers with mine, effectively calming me for a moment.

"I give you a choice. Leave this planet or I'll stop you."

They laughed. "What, you?" she scoffed. "Trapped in your box?"

"Yes. Me," the Doctor calmly replied before he closed the shutters in her laughing face. He walked over to where Rose and Harriet were, still holding my hand. He sat me down and lowered himself so that he was looking in my eyes. "Are you alright?" Not trusting my voice, I nodded. "Good." He stood and began to pace. I watched him for a while before my eyes began to droop. I jumped up when I heard Jackie's voice.

"All right, Doctor. I'm not saying I trust you, but there must be something you can do," Jackie said.

"If we could ferment the port, we could make acetic acid," Harriet offered.

"Mickey, any luck?"

"There's loads of emergency numbers. They're all on voicemail."

"Voicemail dooms us all."

"There's a way out." I perked up, looking at the Doctor. He had moved from leaning on the door to a spot where he could easily look at us. Rose said 'what' at the same time I asked 'is that so?'.

"There's always been a way out."

"Then why don't we use it?" Rose asked.

"Because I can't guarantee your daughters will be safe."

"Don't you dare. Whatever it is, don't you dare."

"That's the thing. If I don't dare, everyone dies."

"Do it," Rose and I said together.

"You don't even know what it is. You'd just let me?"

"Yeah."

"Please, Doctor. Please. They're my daughters. They're just kids," Jackie pled.

"Do you think I don't know that? Because this is my life, Jackie. It's not fun, it's not smart, it's just standing up and making a decision because nobody else will."

"Then what are you waiting for?" I quietly asked.

"I could save the world but lose you," he replied looking in our direction but his eyes solely on me.

"Except it's not your decision, Doctor. It's mine," Harriet said.

"And who the hell are you?" Jackie asked.

"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. The only elected representative in this room, chosen by the people for the people. And on behalf of the people, I command you. Do it." The Doctor looked at us and smiled.

"How do we get out?" Rose asked him.

We don't. We stay here." I raised an eyebrow as he said that but let him carry on. It be no use to question him after admitting that we trusted him. I watched as the Doctor reached for the Emergency Protocols from the red briefcase. He looked at us one more time before sifting through the folders. "Use the buffalo password. It overrides everything."

"What're you doing?"

"Hacking into the Royal Navy. We're in. Here it is. HMS Taurean, Trafalgar Class submarine, ten miles off the coast of Plymouth."

"Right, we need to select a missile," the Doctor instructed.

"We can't go nuclear. We don't have the defence codes."

"We don't need it. All we need's an ordinary missile. What's the first category?"

"Sub Harpoon, UMG-A4A."

"That's the one. Select."

"I could stop you."

"Do it then," Mickey replied to Jackie. That was the last thing we heard from her for a while. I knew she wouldn't do anything, but it was hard to hear her so silent. It wasn't like her.

"You ready for this?" The Doctor asked.

"Yeah."

I stood and went towards the phone. "Mickey the idiot," I said, using the Doctor's name for him. "This, the world, it's in your hands. Please don't mess it up."

The Doctor smiled at me. "Fire."

"Oh, my God."

After a moment of shock, Harriet looked around, her eyes bright with question. "How solid are these?"

"Not solid enough. Build for short range attack, nothing this big." It almost sounded like he'd given up, something that didn't sit right with me. If the Doctor had no hope, what was left for the rest of us?

"All right, now I'm making the decision. I'm not going to die. We're going to ride this one out," Rose said as she went to the closet and opened the door. "It's like what they say about earthquakes. You can survive them by standing under a doorframe. Now, this cupboard's small so it's strong. Come and help me. Come on." She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the closet. Harriet also came over and began to help us empty it.

"It's on radar."

"Counter defence five five six."

"Stop them from intercepting," the Doctor replied.

"I'm doing it now."

"Good boy."

"Five five six neutralized," Mickey said. The Doctor quickly unplugged the phone and rushed into the closet, sitting down between Rose and me.

"Here we go. It was nice knowing you three." Harriet said as we took each other's hands. I gripped the Doctor's tightly. "Hannibal!" Just then the missile made impact. The room shook violently and then started to roll, sending us tumbling around the small area. Rose and Harriet screamed while I made inhuman sounds. When it finally stooped, I found myself on top of the Doctor. Blushing, I quickly got up and then went to help Harriet and Rose up. When we were all standing and had seen no injures on each other, the Doctor went to push the metal door. Instead of swinging, the door fell forward, crashing into rubble. Harriet was the first to step out. "Made in Britain."

As we exited the room, a man in a police uniform ran up to us. "Oh, my god. Are you all right?"

I almost laughed as Harriet whipped out her ID. "Harriet Jones. MP, Flydale North. I want you to contact UN immediately. Tell the ambassadors the crisis is over. They can step down. Go on, tell the news."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Someone's got a hell of a job sorting this lot out. Oh, Lord. We haven't even got a Prime Minister."

"Maybe you should have a go."

"Me? Huh? I'm only a back-bencher."

"I'd vote for you," Rose smiled.

"Me too. I'm sure you'd be a great Prime Minister."

"Now, don't be silly. Look, I'd better go and see if I can help. Hang on!" We watched as she quickly but carefully made her way down the rubble pile. "We're safe! The Earth is safe!" We followed her onto the street. "Sergeant!"

We stopped walking and the Doctor turned to us. "I thought I knew the name. Harriet Jones, future Prime Minister. Elected for three successive terms. The architect of Britain's Golden Age."

I grinned, crossing my arms over my torso. "I can see it."

"The crisis has passed!" Harriet yelled with her arms outstretched. "Ladies and gentlemen, I have something to say to you all here today!" We gave Harriet one final glance before we started to go back to the Tyler flat.

The moment Rose and I walked inside, Jackie had her arms around us. After the hugging stopped, Rose and I shared the settee while Jackie leaned against it. The Doctor had gone out an hour or so ago to take care of the signal the Slitheen were transmitting. The TV was on the news and Harriet Jones was speaking to the reporters. "Harriet Jones. Who does she think she is? Look at her, taking all the credit. Should be you on there. My daughters saved the world!"

"The Doctor helped too," I said.

Jackie went and sat on the opposite seat. "All right, then. Him too. You should be given knighthoods."

"That's not the way he does things. No fuss. He just moves on. He's not that bad if you gave him a chance," Rose told her.

"He's good in a crisis, I'll give him that."

"Oh, now the world has changed. You're saying nice things about him," I laughed.

"Well, I reckon I've got no choice. There's no getting rid of him since you're infatuated," the woman saucily replied as she gave me a knowing look.

I groaned. She and Rose had probably gossiped while I was in the bath. Even still, my face grew hot and my heart started beating a mile a minute. Why did they have to talk? "I am not infatuated, Jackie."

She ignored me. "What does he eat?"

Rose and I looked at her confused. "How do you mean?"

"I was going to do shepherd's pie. All of us. A proper sit down, 'cos I'm ready to listen. I wanna learn about you and him and that life you lead. Only, I don't know, he's an alien. For all I know, he eats grass and safety pins and things."

Rose and I laughed, imagining him eating safety pins. "He'll have shepherd pie."

"You're going to cook for him?" I asked in disbelief.

"What's wrong with that?"

"He's finally met his match."

"You're not too old for a slap, you know. You can go and visit your Gran tomorrow. You'd better learn some French. I told her you were in France. I said you were au-pairing," Jackie said to us. Rose's family was my family and Gran loved me just as much as she did Rose, maybe even more. I turned to Rose as her phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and saw it said TARDIS. I looked at her. Instead of answering, she handed the phone to me.

"Hey?" I stood and walked out to the kitchen.

"Cerys? I thought I was calling Rose."

"She gave me the phone. Wanted to talk to her mum some."

"Right. I'll be a couple hours, then we can go."

"You've got a phone?"

"You think I can travel through space and time and I haven't got a phone?"

"Well..." I laughed when I heard a huff of indignation on his end.

"Like I said, couple of hours. I've just got to send out this dispersal. There you go. That's cancelling out the Slitheen's advert in case any bargain hunters turn up."

"Jackie's cooking."

"Good. Put her on a slow heat and let her simmer."

I chuckled. "Don't let her hear that. Do you want another slap? No, she's cooking tea for us."

"I don't do that."

"She wants to get to know you."

"Tough. I've got better things to do."

I sighed. He was being stubborn. I knew he didn't like domestics but she was giving him a chance. "I want you to come," I muttered. He was silent for a moment. It seemed like he was considering it.

"No."

"But it's just tea."

"Not to me it isn't."

"Then what exactly is it to you? She's basically my mother. Do you honestly think she'd not want to get to know the man her daughters are travelling with?"

"Well, she's not mine." I let out a puff of air, once again annoyed with the Doctor. "Look, I don't do tea with mums."

"But that's not fair."

"Well, you can stay there if you want, but right now there's this plasma storm brewing in the Horsehead Nebula. Fires are burning ten million miles wide."

"Stop tempting me," I growled. He chuckled, knowing it was working.

"I could fly the Tardis right into the heart of it then ride the shock wave all the way out. Hurtle right across the sky and end up anywhere. Your choice."

"I hate you so much."

"No you don't." I hung up the phone, knowing what my choice would be.

I walked back into the living room, looking at Rose. I grabbed her and dragged her to her room. "He's not coming for tea. But he wants us to travel with him still."

"No domestics?"

"Yep."

"Unless it's with you, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"In the car earlier, you two were arguing like an old married couple."

"We weren't. I was just annoyed that he said I was the third wheel."

"Yeah, that's it."

I rolled my eyes. "Are you coming?" Rose didn't answer. Instead she grabbed a backpack and began to cram clothes into it.

"Rose, Cerys, I was thinking. I've got that bottle of Amaretto from New Year's Eve. Does he drink?"

"Yeah, he does," Rose replied.

Jackie looked down and saw the bag. Her eyes began to tear up. "Don't go sweethearts. Please don't go." I looked at the floor, feeling bad for being a cause for her tears. I walked over to her and hugged her, trying not to bump the mugs from her hands.

"We'll be back, mum. He's not going to let anything happen to us. Today was testament to that." I pulled away and saw that she was now crying.

"You rarely called me that."

"I know but I've always considered you to be my mum. You took me in and raised me as your own. Jackie, you ARE my mum." She nodded and placed a kiss on my cheek.

When Rose had finished packing, the three of us left the flat and went to meet with the Doctor. "I'll get a proper job. I'll work weekends. I'll pass my test, and if Jim comes round again, I'll say no. I really will." It nearly brought tears o my eyes at how hard was trying so hard to keep us with her. She needed to know that it wasn't her, that we loved her, but we wanted an adventure, something we couldn't have with her, something the Doctor was so freely giving us.

"We're not leaving because of you. We're travelling, that's all, and then we'll come back."

"But it's not safe."

"Mum, if you saw what was out there you'd never stay home."

As we reached the boys, the Doctor turned his attention from Mickey to Rose, looking at her overstuffed bag. "Got enough stuff?"

"Last time I stepped in there, it was spur of the moment. Now I'm signing up. You're stuck with us," Rose said, handing him her bag. When he had taken it, she went over to Mickey. I went and stood by the Doctor, leaning against the Tardis.

"Come with us. There's plenty of room."

"No chance. He's a liability, I'm not having him on board."

"We'd be dead without him," Rose shot back.

"My decision's final."

"Sorry." Rose gave Mickey a quick kiss goodbye.

"Good luck, yeah."

Jackie turned to the Doctor, walking up to him. "You still can't promise me. What if they get lost? What if something happens to you, Doctor, and they're left all alone standing on some moon a million light years away. How long do I wait then?"

Rose grabbed her arms, turning her around. "Mum, you're forgetting. It's a time machine. I could go travelling around suns and planets and all the way out to the edge of the universe, and by the time I get back, yeah, ten seconds would have passed. Just ten seconds. So stop worrying. See you in ten seconds' time, yeah?" We both went to hug Jackie. I hugged her first and then went into the Tardis after the Doctor. He glanced at me and then went to the console. I sighed and started off to the library. When I got there, I smiled as I saw my stack of books still waiting for me. Picking up the last one I had started, I immersed myself in the world until my eyes became heavy and I succumbed to sleep.

* * *

_So, most of my chapters are at least 3K long so if some are shorter than the others it's because I'm not really in love with the episode. While I did enjoy this one and Aliens in London, they weren't exactly my favourite. I honestly can't wait to post Dalek. It shows a bit more of the Doctor and Cerys' relationship, or lack there of. _

_Another thing, I am skipping chapters. There are a few I really don't want to do so there will be original chapters placed in so that it can all flow seamlessly (in my opinion) . Those chapters will be pretty short, and might not hit the 3K mark since they'll mostly be filler. Still, it'll have a ton of information in them so don't skip. _

_I'm glad to know you're enjoying the story so far. I'm having so much fun writing it and am almost at The End of Time. I've been putting it off because DT's departure always kills me. But things will definitely change as the story progresses. _


	9. Dalek

I awoke to someone carrying me down a corridor. Looking up, I saw that it was the Doctor. I was still a bit upset with him but I didn't struggle against him. Sensing I was awake, he looked down at me. I returned the gaze, not really wanting to say anything. "Can you walk?"

"I'm tired, not lame."

"Glad to hear," he responded before placing me on the floor. I glared at him and then turned on my heels. "Next time I'll leave you."

I whipped around. "I never asked you to move me, Doctor. You took it upon yourself. But please, leave me there next time. I was quite comfortable. Besides, who said anything about there being a next time?" I snapped before I turned around and stormed to my room. When I reached the door, I suddenly decided that I didn't want to be alone. With a hesitant knock on Rose's door, I let myself in. Rose was asleep, softly snoring in the process. I smiled to myself before walking in, closing the door behind me. As quietly as possible, I inched onto the bed, situating myself under the covers. I silently hoped I would have a restless slumber but I knew it was rarely the case. Sighing, I relaxed and finally dozed off.

A soft thwack woke me. I jumped up, looking around a bit disoriented before my eyes landed on my best friend. I glared at her laughing figure, deciding what I was going to say. "Thanks for the wake-up call."

"Anytime. What are you doing in here anyways?"

"Same as usual."

"You can't let them keep you up at night."

"Last I recalled, I was peacefully sleeping until you hit me."

"Yeah, well I'm not sorry." She looked at me, her nose pinched up as she took in my attire. "You didn't sleep in your room, did you?"

"No, the library."

"So, how'd you get here?"

"The Doctor carried me out of there."

"How nice."

"Yeah, until I woke up. We got into it again."

"You know Cerys, I think you two should have a sit down."

"What for?"

"To uncover the reason for the love/hate relationship you share."

"I don't need that and I don't hate him."

"Then what is it?" she inquired as she sat next to me, crossing her legs.

I don't know. A few nights ago we were talking and we were fine but after that thing with the Slitheen, I don't know."

"Do you want to be here?"

"Yes. "

"Do you trust him?"

"Although I know I shouldn't, I do. He's saved our lives more than once."

"True. What did you talk about? When you were in the library?"

"He asked about the nightmares and why I had them."

"Did you tell him?"

"Not really. Rose, you and your mum are the only people who know the truth. I can't have another person knowing."

"We're travelling with him, though."

"Have you told him anything about yourself? Your deepest, darkest secrets that I only know?"

"No, but-"

"But nothing Rose. He doesn't need to know about that."

"What if one day he wants to know those things?"

"Rosie, I doubt I'll live that long."

She looked at me flabbergasted by my words. I couldn't blame her. She had been there in my darkest days and those words were forever etched in her mind. That one sentence could strike a fear in her that would never be quenched. "Cerys…"

"Not the time, Rosie. I'm not saying now, or even a few days from now. All I'm saying is that there is going to be a time where it's going to come to that. I just fear what I'm leaving behind."

"And what's that?" Her voice was no louder than a whisper.

"My sister and mum. Jackie would be devastated. Last time almost destroyed her."

"She thinks of you as her daughter, Cerys. Of course it would destroy her! It would kill me. I never want to see something like that again. I was so scared and you didn't make it any better."

"I know and I've apologized for it more times than I could count."

"If you feel that way, you could always come to me. You don't have to deal with it alone."

"Thanks, Rosie. I'm really glad that I have you."

"I'm glad I have you too Cerys. Things wouldn't be the same without you." We grinned at each other for a moment before I stood. "Where are you going?"

"Back to my room. I want to shower and change."

"Alright. Meet me in the console room."

"Rose…"

"I'm not planning anything, I'm ready for another adventure."

"Fine. I'll meet you there in twenty."

"Fifteen."

"Twenty." Rose rolled her eyes before finally giving in. With a content smile, I left her room and went to mine.

The moment I closed my room's door, I stripped down and almost ran to the bathroom. Once the water was running hot, I jumped in, relishing in the heat. After ten minutes, I hopped out and quickly dried off, letting my hair air dry. Within ten minutes, I had thrown on ripped jeans, a black tank top, a green and grey plaid shirt, combat boots, and my black beanie. When I was presentable, I left the room, making my way to the front.

When I got there, Rose and the Doctor were talking quietly to each other. Not paying much attention to them, I went and sat on the chair. When they finally stopped their conversation, I smiled at them, er, Rose. She quickly returned it. As I was going to say something, a beeping sound filled the room. Rose looked to the Doctor who was already working his way around the console. With a less than shaky flight, we stopped. The Doctor was the first to leave the Tardis, followed by Rose. "So, what is it? What's wrong?"

"Don't know. Some kind of signal drawing the Tardis off course." He said looking around.

"Where are we?"

"Earth. Utah, North America. About half a mile underground."

"And when are we?"

"Two thousand and twelve," he replied before looking at display case.

"God, that's so close. So we should be twenty six, Cerys." I nodded but remained quiet. I watched as the Doctor moved around until he found a light switch. He flicked it and light flooded the place. The room which we stood was huge, with cement walls and display cases scattered everywhere with bits and odds in them. "Blimey. It's a great big museum."

"An alien museum. Someone's got a hobby." The Doctor and Rose started walking down the aisle, observing the artifacts. "They must have spent a fortune on this. Chunks of meteorite, moon dust. That's the milometer from the Roswell spaceship."

"That's a bit of Slitheen! That's a Slitheen's arm. It's been stuffed."

"Oh, look at you." Rose thought he was talking to her but his attention was on the head of some metal thing. A shudder danced down my spine, feeling as if I should know what it was. I pushed it down, not wanting to seem physically affected.

"What is it?"

"An old friend of mine. Well, enemy. The stuff of nightmares reduced to an exhibit. I'm getting old." I held back a snigger at his last comment. In my eyes, he was old.

"Is that where the signal's coming from?"

"No, it's stone dead. The signal's alive. Something's reaching out, calling for help." He reached out and tapped the glass. The instant he did, an alarm began to sound. I jumped slightly, not expecting the sudden reaction. As I glanced around, I saw guards armed to the teeth surround us. I groaned and glared at the Doctor. I was irritated to say the least. He just had to touch something.

"Well, if someone's collecting aliens, that makes you exhibit A," Rose snorted before someone came forward."

"You are trespassing on private property."

"Figured that bit," I responded. "So, who owns the place?"

The man glanced at me, his gaze lingering for a moment. "You are to come with us." With one last look at me, he turned and led us out of the room.

The Doctor walked ahead of Rose and me with his arms behind his back. As we made our way down corridors, I couldn't help but wonder who was behind this. Sure, the museum was great but, it seemed to be too much for 2012. The officer stopped in front of a door. Knocking, he opened it and led us inside. In the office were two men, the younger one was showing the other some sort of device.

"What does it do?"

"Well, you see the tubes on the side? It must be to channel something. I think maybe fuel."

"I really wouldn't hold it like that," the Doctor said. I silently groaned. He always had to say something.

"Shut it."

"Really, though, that's wrong."

"Is it dangerous?"

"No, it just looks silly." He reached for the device. As he did so, the guards aimed their guns at him. The older man motioned for them to lower their guns, which they did. He then stood and handed the item to the Doctor. Getting a glimpse, I saw that it was curved and small. "You just need to be delicate." He began to stroke gently, making a soft sound leave it. He continued to do so until the older man stood.

The man smiled."It's a musical instrument."

"And it's a long way from home."

"Here, let me," he said as he grabbed it. As he stroked it, a harsher sound reached our ears. I grimaced, knowing he was going it wrong.

"I did say delicate. It reacts to the smallest fingerprint. It needs precision." Listening to the Doctor, he stroked it again, this time producing a nicer sound. "Very good. Quite the expert."

"As are you," the man replied before he very casually tossed aside. I glared at his mistreatment of the artifact but said nothing. "Who exactly are you?"

"I'm the Doctor. And who are you?"

"Like you don't know," he said almost cockily. "We're hidden away with the most valuable collection of extra-terrestrial artifacts in the world, and you just stumbled in by mistake."

"Pretty much sums me up, yeah."

"The question is, how did you get in? Fifty three floors down, with your little cat burglar accomplices. You're quite a collector yourself, they're rather pretty."

I rolled my eyes and folded my arms, unimpressed. Rose on the other hand was annoyed. "Oi, watch it, you."

"She's English too! Hey, little Lord Fauntleroy. Got you a girlfriend," he said to the boy, ignoring me.

"This is Mister Henry Van Statten."

"And who's he when he's at home?" Rose remarked.

"Mister Van Statten owns the internet."

"Don't be stupid. No one owns the internet."

"And let's just keep the whole world thinking that way, right kids?"

"So you're just about an expert in everything except the things in your museum. Anything you don't understand, you lock up."

"And you claim greater knowledge?"

"I don't need to make claims, I know how good I am."

"And yet, I captured you. Right next to the Cage. What were you doing down there?"

"Um, you didn't really capture us. The idiot just happened to alert your security of our presence. If that's what you consider capturing us then you're quite daft," I snapped.

The two men looked at me but then went back to their conversation as if I hadn't said anything. "You tell me."

"The cage contains my one living specimen."

"And what's that?"

"Like you don't know."

"Show me."

"You want to see it?"

"Blimey, you can smell the testosterone." I smirked at Rose's remark. She was right, it was like they were trying to compete for who's bigger.

"Goodard," he said to the other woman in the office with us, "Inform the Cage we're heading down. You, English." The boy looked at him as he walked into the lift. "Look after the girls. Go and canoodle or spoon or whatever it is you British do. And you, Doctor with no name, come and see my pet."

"Wait. How about you go with him," Rose said to me, pointing to the Doctor."

"Why should I?"

"Keep him out of trouble. There's nothing worse than the Doctor in trouble. Besides, you're the only one who could get some sense into him." I sighed and nodded. I knew what she was doing and although I had given in, I wasn't going to talk to the man. With it sorted out, I left the room the Doctor and Van Statten.

We walked for a few minutes before we were standing outside of a room that I guessed was the cage. "We've tried everything. The creature has shielded itself but there's definite signs of life inside."

"Inside? Inside what?"

"Welcome back, sir. I've had to take the power down. The Metaltron is resting."

"The Metalron?" I asked.

"Thought of it myself. Good, isn't it? Although I'd much to prefer to find out it's real name."

"Seriously, there's an alien in there and that's the best you could come up with? Now I feel even worse for it." Van Statten glared at me as I finished up. I returned the glare, not backing down. He was obviously an idiot, whether or not he wanted to believe he wasn't.

The scientist looked at us and then tried to hand gloves to the Doctor. "Here, you'd better put these on. The last guy that touched it burst into flames."

"Then we won't touch it then, will we Cerys?" I shook my head.

"Go ahead, Doctor. Impress me." Van Statten smiled, obviously not expecting the Doctor to be able to do anything. Goddard glanced at me, tilting her head smugly.

The Doctor grabbed my hand and pulled me through the door. It closed almost instantly, locking us in the dark room. We looked around, seeing a small table with drills and other torture devices. The Doctor looked at me quickly but turned to a control board when I made no move to return his glance. Then we saw a single blue light in the back of the room. "Look, I'm sorry about this. Mister Van Statten might think he's clever, but never mind him. I've come to help. I'm the Doctor."

"Doc-Tor?"

"Impossible."

"The Doctor?" His grip on my hand tightened as the light came on to show what was talking to us. It looked like a salt and pepper shaker with an eyestalk, a plunger and whisk for arms. It was chained to the floor, unable to move. I tried to get closer but the Doctor pulled me back, shoving me behind him. "Exterminate! Exterminate!" The Doctor pulled my back to the door and began to pound on it. Terror was written on his face, leaving me shocked and afraid. Whatever that alien was, it had invoked a fear in the Doctor I'd never seen.

"Let us out!"

"Exterminate! You are an enemy of the Daleks! You must be destroyed!" I watched as the whisk moved, fear of what might happened paralyzed me. When nothing did, I turned to the Doctor. Although the fear was there, I also noticed that my head had started to hurt. There was something familiar about the creature, something that I should know but didn't.

"It's not working," the Doctor stated before he started to laugh. "Fantastic! Oh, fantastic!" His expression changed from a slight hysteria to anger. "Powerless! Look at you. The great space dustbin. How does it feel?" He moved closer to it, pulling me with him.

The creature backed away as far as it could in the chains. "Keep back!" By this time the Doctor was inches away. His body was still shielding me as he walked around the room, still dragging me along.

"What for? What're you going to do to me? If you can't kill, then what are you good for, Dalek? What's the point of you? You're nothing." I glared at the back of his head. No matter what a Dalek was, it didn't deserve to be told it was nothing. No one wanted to hear that, human or alien. "What the hell are you here for?"

"I am waiting for orders."

"What do you mean?" I hesitantly asked it, moving from behind the Doctor. I left my hand in his, feeling he was mainly holding it for comfort. The eyestalk moved to me, as if whatever that was hidden in the shell wanted to look at me. The Doctor moved again, keeping me from its view.

"I am a soldier. I was bred to receive orders."

"Well you're never going to get any. Not ever."

"I demand orders!"

"They're never going to come! Your race is dead! You all burnt, all of you. Ten million ships on fire. The entire Dalek race wiped out in one second," the Doctor replied.

"You lie!"

"I watched it happen. I made it happen." I looked at him in disbelief. How could he have destroyed an entire race? I tugged my hand, trying to remove it from his. He held on with a steel grip. I continued until he turned and looked at me, pleading with his eyes. I sighed and stopped, knowing he needed the support. I was angry but Rose was right, I was the only one who could talk him down if I tried.

"You destroyed us?" The Doctor seemed to be affected by the question. His expression became blank but I could still see the anger in his eyes.

He turned from the Dalek, facing me. "I had no choice."

"And what of the Time Lords?"

"Dead." His lips quivered. I wanted to hug him and tell him it was alright, to comfort him but I couldn't. He wouldn't want it. "They burnt with you. The end of the last great Time War. Everyone lost." As the Doctor said this, my headache got worse. I tried to ignore it but it wanted to be felt. I shut my eyes, hoping it would help, that it was the lights causing the pain. Unfortunately I wasn't so lucky.

"And the coward survived."

He smiled, mocking it. "Oh, and I caught your little signal. Help me. Poor little thing. But there's no one else coming 'cause there's no one else left."

"I am alone in the universe."

"Yep."

"So are you. We are the same."

"We're not the same! I'm not-" he stopped, thinking. "No, wait. Maybe we are. You're right. Yeah, okay. You've got a point. 'Cause I know what to do. I know what should happen. I know what you deserve. Exterminate." My eyes snapped open as the Doctor released my hand and pulled down a lever on a nearby board. Suddenly the Dalek was being electrocuted. I stared at the Doctor in fear. This was a side I'd never seen and it scared me more than I was willing to admit. I shifted my gaze to the Dalek as my eyes clouded over. No matter what it had done to the Doctor, this was unnecessary.

"Have pity!" it screamed. It was in pain and the Doctor just continued to torture it.

"Doctor, please stop. You're hurting it."

"It deserves it."

"No, it doesn't."

"Yes, it does. You weren't there, Cerys. It destroyed my people."

"And you did the same to its own. When is the bloodshed going to stop?"

"When it's dead." I turned away from him and walked to the door, tears streaming down my face. This was the Doctor in all his anger and I didn't like it. Doctors were supposed to help, not cause pain.

"Have pity!" it screamed again. I covered my ears, unable to bear the sound of its screams. Another sob racked through my body. The screams weren't entirely muted and it affected me more than most things would.

"Why should I? You never did."

"Help me!" Not a minute later, the door slid open and guards grabbed the Doctor as he attempted to turn up the voltage.

Van Statten walked in, going up to the Dalek. "I saved your life. Now talk to me. Goddamn it, talk to me!" The scientist went to where the Doctor once stood and turned off the electricity.

"You've got to destroy it!" he yelled as he was dragged away. Guards came over to me but did not touch me. I wasn't a threat. I just stood there watching Van Statten.

"The last in the universe. And now I know your name. Dalek. Speak to me, Dalek. I am Henry van Statten, now recognise me!" The Dalek said nothing. "Make it talk again, Simmons. Whatever it takes." I glared at him as he brushed past me. When he said nothing to me, I followed him out of the room.

Van Statten, Goddard, the Doctor, security, and I had just entered the elevator when the Doctor spoke. "The metal's just battle armour. The real Dalek creature's inside"

"What does it look like?"

"A nightmare. It's a mutation. The Dalek race was genetically engineered. Every single emotion was removed except hate."

"Genetically engineered. By whom?"

"By a genius, Van Statten. By a man who was king of his own little world. You'd like him."

"It's been on Earth for over fifty years. Sold at a private auction, moving from one collection to another. Why would it be a threat now?" Goddard asked.

"Because I'm here. How did it get to Earth? Does anyone know?"

"The records say it came from the sky like a meteorite. It fell to Earth on the Ascension Islands. Burnt in its crater for three days before anybody could get near it and all that time it was screaming. It must have gone insane."

"It must have fallen through time. The only survivor."

"You talked about a war?"

"The Time War. The final battle between my people and the Dalek race."

"But you survived too."

"Not by choice."

"This means that the Dalek isn't the only alien on Earth. Doctor, there's you. The only one of your kind in existence." My head turned to Van Statten as he looked at the Doctor.

"He's a living person, not something for you to dissect," I barked. He glanced at me and then nodded to the officers in the elevator with us. At that, a guard grabbed my arms and attempted to put me in handcuffs. As he did so, I managed to punch him, buying me a bit of time. Moving away, I felt a hand grab my shoulder and slam me into the wall. I groaned I hit the wall. As the cuffs were placed on my wrists, I stomped on the person's foot. "You little-" I threw my head back, hitting him in the face. Turning around, I saw it was Van Statten. A small smile crossed my face as I saw him clutching his bleeding nose.

"Leave her alone. I'll go with you." I glanced at him, trying to meet his eyes. He avoided them and looked straight ahead. I blew out a puff of air in annoyance. He had to try and be a hero. I groaned, noticing the four hands on me as we were ushered out of the elevator. We walked a bit and then went into a room. Two guards held me behind a piece of machinery as the Doctor's jacket and shirt was removed and he was chained to a metal bed.

"Now, smile!" Van Statten said as a laser ran down the Doctor's body. I watched him writhe and grimace in pain.

"Stop it! You're hurting him!" I yelled. They ignored me.

"Two hearts! Binary vascular system. Oh, I am so going to patent this."

"So that's your secret. You don't just collect this stuff, you scavenge it."

"This technology has been falling to Earth for centuries. All it took was the right mind to use it properly. Oh, the advances I've made from alien junk. You have no idea, Doctor. Broadband? Roswell. Just last year my scientists cultivated bacteria from the Russian crater, and do you know what we found?" He walked towards the Doctor, stopping by his side. "The cure for the common cold. Kept it strictly within the laboratory of course. No need to get people excited. Why sell one cure when I can sell a thousand palliatives?"

"You're sick!"

"Do you know what a Dalek is, Van Statten? A Dalek is honest. It does what it was born to do for the survival of its species. That creature in your dungeon is better than you."

"In that case, I will be true to myself and continue."

"Listen to me!" The Doctor jerked forward. "That thing downstairs is going to kill every last one of us!"

"Nothing can escape the Cage," Van Staten replied as he hit the Doctor with the laser again. I moved to go to Van Statten but the two men holding me had an iron grip. I struggled as much as I could but they wouldn't let me go.

"But it's woken up. It knows I'm here. It's going to get out. Van Statten, I swear, no one on this base is safe. No one on this planet!" I watched as Van Statten grinned, running the laser again. He was now doing it on purpose, using it as a torture device. Anger rose in me as I realized that. I felt my cheeks flush as I heard the Doctor's screams. As upset as I was with him, this was not what I wanted. I turned to my captors, stomping my foot on the man on my right's foot. He yowled in pain and released me. The other grabbed me, trying to stop my struggling. I turned to face him and kneed him where the sun don't shine. He collapsed, holding himself whimpering in pain. I ran to Van Statten but more guards had come for me, blocking my path to the man. Just as I was going to attack one of the men, a loudspeaker came to life.

"I repeat, this is not a drill!"

"Release me if you want to live." Van Satten turned from me and looked at the Doctor and nodded to the guards who stood by him. They quickly undid his chains and handed him is clothes. "Her too." The two guards that I'd hit unlocked the handcuffs. Finally free, I walked up to Van Statten and punched him in the face. Content with the black and blue that was forming under his eye, I walked to over to the Doctor. "You didn't have to do that."

"Yes, I did," I replied before I grabbed his hand and allowed him to lead me to the elevator.

The four of us piled into the elevator and after mere seconds, the doors opened and the Doctor pulled me out, running towards Van Statten's office. On the wall TV was the Cage. Rose and the kid she'd gone with were in there.

"You've got to keep it in that cell."

"Doctor, it's all my fault."

"I've sealed the compartment. It can't get out, that lock's got a billion combinations."

"A Dalek's a genius. It can calculate a thousand billion combinations in one second flat."

We watched in silence as the Dalek opened the door and the guards began to shoot at it. "Don't shoot it! I want it unharmed." I rolled my eyes at Van Statten. After everything the Doctor said, he was trying to protect it.

I stared at the screen, my eyes on my best friend. "Rose," I said. She looked into the screen at me. "Get out of there. You have to get back to the office." She nodded and backed into another room, out of our view. We then watched as the Dalek went up to the wall monitor and smashed it, absorbing electricity and cutting off our visual.

Goddard sat behind the desk, typing away on the computer. "We're losing power. It's draining the base. Oh, my God. It's draining entire power supplies for the whole of Utah."

"It's downloading."

"Downloading what?"

"Sir, the entire West Coast has gone down."

"It's not just energy. The Dalek just absorbed the entire internet. It knows everything," the Doctor replied.

"The cameras in the vault have gone down."

"We've only got emergency power. It's eaten everything else. You've got to kill it now!"

"All guards to converge in the Metaltron cage, immediately," Goddard ordered.

Seeing as the cameras were down, we waited, me impatiently, for word on Rose. Moments later, the sound of gun fire came through the speakers. "Tell them to stop shooting at it."

"But it's killing them!"

"They're dispensable. That Dalek is unique. I don't want a scratch on its bodywork, do you hear me? Do you hear me?"

"Are you mad? There are people dying down there. Are you that obsessed with this that you'd lead people to their deaths? You disgust me. The only dispensable person is you. Those men and women are so brave, so very brave and you are a coward. If we make it out of here alive, I promise you, I will bring your end," I growled, causing the Doctor to shift his body to me. He placed a hand on my shoulder to calm me but I shrugged it off and moved to a corner where I could watch.

As we listened to the audio, the gunshots began to fade until there was no more. I grimaced but said nothing. I just watched as Goddard pulled up the building's schematics. "That's us, right below the surface. That's the cage, and that's the Dalek."

"This museum of yours. Have you got any alien weapons?"

"Lots of them, but the trouble is the Dalek's between us and them."

"We've got to keep that thing alive. We could just seal the entire vault, trap it down there."

"Van Satten," I said. He turned to me. "Shut up."

The Doctor smirked at me but then addressed his comment. "That would leave everyone trapped with it. Rose is down there. I won't let this happen. Have you got that?" he said to Van Statten. Without waiting for an answer, he returned his attention to Goddard and the computer screen. "It's got to go through this area." He pointed to an area that I couldn't make out. "What's that?"

"Weapons testing."

"Give guns to the technicians, the lawyers, anyone. Everyone. Only then have you got a chance of killing it." Goddard stood and quickly left the room as the Doctor took her place.

We were all quiet for a while. I was glad that the idiot had listened to me but it soon disappeared. "I thought you were the great expert, Doctor. If you're so impressive, then why not just reason with this Dalek? It must be willing to negotiate. There must be something it needs. Everything needs something."

"What's the nearest town?"

"Salt Lake City."

"Population?"

"One million."

"All dead. If the Dalek gets out, it'll murder every living creature. That's all it needs."

"But why would it do that?"

"Because it honestly believes they should die. Human beings are different, and anything different is wrong. It's the ultimate in racial cleansing and you, Van Statten, you've let it loose!" The Doctor got up and hovered over the microphone, talking to the guards. "The Dalek's surrounded by a force field. The bullets are melting before they even hit home, but it's not indestructible." I glanced at the Doctor, curious as to what he was thinking. "If you concentrate your fire, you might get through. Aim for the dome, the head, the eyepiece. That's the weak spot."

As the Doctor finished, a voice came through. "Thank you, Doctor, but I think I know how to fight one single tin robot. Positions!"

I shook my head at his ignorance before I walked over to the Doctor. "They're going to die, aren't they? They don't know what they're dealing with." He nodded, acknowledging my question. Just then, Goddard returned.

"We've got vision."

"It wants us to see," the Doctor replied. We watched as the bullets fell around the Dalek, having no effect. It rose up, shooting the fire alarm and setting off he sprinklers, covering the floor with water. I grabbed the Doctor's hand, squeezing it as it shot onto the floor and electrocuted everyone on the ground.

"Fall back! Fall back!" the commander yelled before the Dalek shot the metal landing they stood on, electrocuting them. All that was left was silence.

* * *

_Hey there. We are finally at Dalek. So this episode is one that I think somewhat gives both Cerys and Rose a glimpse at the Doctor that they haven't seen. It also add a bit more to the Cerys/Doctor relationship, but that isn't really seen until the next chapter. So far though, Cerys has been a bit snappy. Some of it had to do with what he said in Aliens of London, about Rose being there for him to impress. Kinda harsh. But guys, just wait until the Empty Child. Can I just say, FLUFF. _

_Glad you've been enjoying the story so far. I am having so much fun writing it, especially now that I have an insane twist coming up, but that's not until Utopia. Sorry guys. So with my upload schedule, I am definitely keeping it. I've honestly been neglecting my Wattpad account, mainly because I'm writing the chapters and I still have to watch the episodes for that account. It's already halfway through Ten on that account, seeing as I just recently made this account. But when we get there, you'll love it. _

_I've just finished writing The God Complex and oh my gosh I think you guys are definitely going to love the slight change I made. It includes the twist I mentioned. Oh, if you know what Cerys and the Doctor are, PM me. Leave a review. Honestly, I love hearing what you think. I hope I'm keeping the Doctor true to his character. That's honestly my main worry but yeah, thanks for reading. :}_


	10. The Stranger Before Me

I released the Doctor's hand, feeling angrier as the minutes ticked by. Walking to Van Statten, I brought him to his knees with a swift kick. "This is your fault. My best friend is down there, running from that thing. All those people have died, risking their lives for a selfish man." I turned and returned to the corner. Closing my eyes, I tried to concentrate on my breathing. I wanted to run out of the room and try to find Rose myself but I knew the Doctor wouldn't allow it and although I understood why, I didn't care.

"Perhaps it's time for a new strategy. Maybe we should consider abandoning this place."

Goddard rolled her eyes at the man. "Except there's no power to the helipad, sir. We can't get out." Her tone hinted her disapproval, her anger.

"You said we could seal the vault."

"It was designed to be a bunker in the event of nuclear war. Steal bulkheads."

"There's not enough power, those bulkheads are massive."

"We've got emergency power. We can re-route that to the bulkhead doors."

"We'd have to bypass the security codes. That would take a computer genius."

"Good thing you've got me, then."

"You want to help?"

"I don't want to die, Doctor. Simple as that." I snorted. Of course that would be his reason. "And nobody knows this software better than me."

"Sir," Goddard said as she motioned to the screen. We all looked to see the Dalek was back on the ground.

"I shall speak only to the Doctor." The Doctor stood, up, watching the TV.

"You're going to get rusty."

"I fed off the DNA of Rose Tyler. Extrapolating the biomass of a time traveler regenerated me."

"What's your next trick?"

"I have been searching for the Daleks."

"Yeah, I saw. Downloading the internet. What did you find?" He walked around the desk, standing in from the TV.

"I scanned your satellites and radio telescopes."

"And?"

"Nothing. Where shall I get my orders?"

"You're just a soldier without commands."

"Then I shall follow the Primary Order, the Dalek instinct to destroy, to conquer."

"What for?" I asked, stepping up to the mic. "What's the point of it?"

"Don't you see it's all gone? Everything you were, everything you stood for."

"Then what should I do?"

"All right, then. If you want orders, follow this one. Kill yourself." I stepped away from the Doctor. He had done it again. He became a stranger to me, one who could calmly tell another to kill themselves, to die. I tensely folded my arms, aware that Goddard was staring at my changed demeanor.

"The Daleks must survive!"

"The Daleks have failed! Why don't you finish the job and make the Daleks extinct. Rid the Universe of your filth. Why don't you just die?" he said angrily as he stormed towards the TV.

"You would make a good Dalek," it said, making the Doctor freeze up. As he stared at the screen, it went dark, erasing the Dalek from our view.

"Seal the vaults."

Van Statten and the Doctor sat across from each other, typing on keyboards. "I can leech power off the ground defenses, feed it to the bulkheads. God, it's been years since I had to work this fast."

"Having fun?" I spat.

"Doctor," Goddard interjected. "She's still down there." I held out my hand and she handed me an earpiece. I quickly gave Goddard the number and within a minute, Rose had answered the phone.

"This isn't the best time."

"I know but where are you?"

"Level forty nine." I quickly told them her location.

"Rose, you have to keep moving. Please, Rosie. The vaults are being sealed at level forty six."

"Can't you stop them from closing?"

"That's the thing. The Doctor's closing them. He and Van Statten are trying to keep the Dalek from reaching us. At the rate it's going, he won't be able to wait." I paused, taking in a shaky breath. "Rosie, pleas run. You've got to run faster than that time we were chased my Mrs. Digiji's dogs."

"Okay." I sat on the floor, listening to her pant. I kept hoping she would make it, I needed her to make it.

"Done it. We've got power in the bulkhead."

"The Dalek's right behind them"

"Cerys, we're nearly there. Give us too seconds."

"Doctor, I can't sustain the power. The whole system is failing. Doctor, you've got to close the bulkheads."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't you dare!" I screamed as I jumped to my feet, angrily whipping around to face him. It was too late, he had already hit enter. I glared at the Doctor before turning away.

"The vault is sealed."

"Rose? Rosie, please tell me you made it."

She was breathing heavily, trying to regain her breath. "Sorry, I was a bit slow." I took in a sharp breath before removing the earpiece, tossing it onto the floor, and running out of the office. I heard the Doctor yelling at Van Statten in the office. I didn't care. I needed to get to Rose.

As I ran towards the bulkhead, I ran into the guy that was with her. I immediately grabbed him and threw him onto the floor. "You left her! You left my sister behind! You're a coward. You just had to save yourself." I felt someone grab my hands, prying me off of him. I whirled around, punching the person, the Doctor. "And you. You closed the bulkhead! You gave up on her. You listened to that moron."

"Cerys…"

"Don't," I snapped as I allowed him to lead me back to the office. He sat me in his chair and knelt so that we were eyelevel. I turned away, not wanting to look at him. I had trusted him to protect her and he just let her die.

"Open the bulkhead or Rose Tyler dies." My head snapped to the TV, staring at the screen in disbelief.

"You're alive! Rosie, you're alive!"

She smiled. "Can't get rid of me."

"I thought I wouldn't see you again. I thought you were gone…" I trailed off.

"Open the bulkhead!"

"Don't do it!" Rose exclaimed.

"What use are emotions if you will not save the sister of the woman you love?"

"I killed her once. I can't do it again," the Doctor said, ignoring the Dalek's comment. Goddard looked down. Pressing the enter key to open the door, the bulkhead opened and the two walked through.

Van Statten stood from his seat, walking over to the Doctor. "What do we do now, you bleeding heart. What the hell do we do?"

"Shut the hell up, Van Statten. I am so sick of hearing your voice. That is my best friend, my sister and she is not going to die because you want to live."

"We could kill it when it gets here," the boy suggested.

"All the guns are useless, and the alien weapons are in the vault."

"Only the catalogued ones." We all looked at the guy before the Doctor and I followed him out of the office.

"What's your name?" I asked as we walked.

"Adam."

"Oh, okay." I slowed down, walking behind them until we got to the room.

The Doctor rummaged around, picking things up and tossing it. "Broken. Broken. Hairdryer."

"Mister Van Statten tends to dispose of his staff, and when he does he wipes their memory. I kept this stuff in case I needed to fight my way out one day."

"What, you in a fight? I'd like to see that."

"I could do."

"What're you going to do, throw your A-Levels at 'em?" He rummaged around some more before he finally found something to his liking, an extremely big gun. "Oh, yes. Lock and load." I stared at him. This was no longer the Doctor. He was a different man, a stranger.

We all ran back to the office, but they weren't there. I looked at the Doctor, frantic before he led us to Level 1. The second I saw Rose, I ran to her, engulfing her in a bone-crushing hug. We hugged each other for a moment longer before letting go. I turned my attention to the Dalek. There was a hole in the ceiling and the metal had opened up revealing an alien with one eye and tentacles. It held one of them out, feeling the sunlight on it.

"Get away from it." We didn't move. We just stared at him in disbelief. "Rose, Cerys, get out of the way now!" He ordered, aiming the gun at us.

"No. We won't let you do this."

"That thing killed hundreds of people."

I walked up to him, placing my hand on the gun. "Yet you're pointing the gun at her, my sister."

He tried not to look at me but he did, our eyes meeting for the first time in a while. "I've got to do this. I've got to end it. The Daleks destroyed my home, my people. I've got nothing left."

"That may be so, but look at it. Does it look like it's going to kill anyone else?" He left my gaze for a moment, staring at the Dalek in shock.

"What's it doing?" He was confused as to what it was doing as it reached out.

"It's the sunlight, that's all it wants," Rose answered.

"But it can't..."

"It couldn't kill Van Statten, it couldn't kill me. It's changing. What about you, Doctor? What the hell are you changing into?"

He looked away from them, meeting my eyes once more, begging for me to understand. He let the gun fall. "I couldn't- I wasn't- Oh, Cerys. They're all dead."

"Why do we survive?" the Dalek asked the Doctor.

"I don't know."

"I am the last of the Daleks."

"You're not even that. Rose did more than regenerate you. You've absorbed her DNA. You're mutating."

"Into what?"

"Something new. I'm sorry."

"Isn't that better?" Rose questioned.

"Not for a Dalek."

"I can feel so many ideas. So much darkness. Rose, give me orders. Order me to die."

"I can't do that."

"This is not life. This is sickness. I shall not be like you. Order my destruction! Obey! Obey! Obey!" it begged her.

Rose glanced at me before looking back at the Dalek. "Do it."

"Are you frightened, Rose Tyler?"

"Yeah."

"So am I. Exterminate."

We watched at it closed its eye and the armor began to close up. Rose ran over to us, almost tripping on a piece of concrete might I add, and grabbed my hand as it rose into the air. The balls on its body began to spread out, forming a force field. Then it imploded leaving no trace of its presence. Rose, the Doctor, and I quickly made our way back to the Tardis. When we got there, I smiled, welcoming the familiar box. "A little piece of home. Better than nothing." He patted the Tardis.

"Is that the end of it, the Time War?" Rose asked him.

"I'm the only one left. I win. How about that?" He said, his face void of emotion.

"The Dalek survived. Maybe some of your people did too."

"I'd know. In here." He tapped his head. "Feels like there's no one."

"Well then, good thing we're not going anywhere."

The Doctor looked at her sadly. "Yeah." I placed a hand on his arm but he didn't acknowledge me. I let go, feeling slightly rejected. Yeah, we had our problems and arguments but we still responded to each other when emotions ran high. I looked away, quickly covering up the hurt so that Rose wouldn't see.

We stood there in silence before we heard footsteps approach us. "We'd better get out. Van Statten's disappeared. They're closing down the base. Goddard says they're going to fill it full of cement, like it never existed," Adam told us, carrying a duffle bag.

"About time."

"I'll have to go back home."

"Better hurry up then. Next flight to Heathrow leaves at," the Doctor checked his watch. "Fifteen hundred hours."

"Adam was saying that all his life he wanted to see the stars."

"Tell him to go and stand outside, then."

"He's all on his own, Doctor, and he did help."

"He left you down there."

"So did you."

"Plus, he's a bit pretty."

Rose smirked. "I hadn't noticed." She looked at him pleadingly before the smile returned to her face as she looked at me. "Scared someone might pay him more attention than you?" she joked.

"No."

"Good."

"What are you talking about? We've got to leave," Adam exclaimed.

"On your own head," the Doctor told her as he unlocked the Tardis, walking in. I followed, heading straight to my room. Happy for the familiarity, I grinned and let my hair down, feeling more relaxed than I had in a while.

I laid on the floor, gazing at the moving stars on the ceiling. I was content and calm, two things that had been difficult for me to reach. At the moment, everything seemed to fade away. I didn't let my thoughts get to me, no matter how much they nagged. I wanted peace and I was getting it.

Twenty minutes had passed when there was a knock on my door. I didn't answer, hoping that whoever it was would go away. To my happiness, I heard footsteps faded away from my room. Breathing out a sigh of relief, I closed my eyes. Not two minutes later, the door slammed open. "What the hell, Rose?"

"How'd you know it was me?"

"The Doctor tends to knock," I snapped.

"Oh," she said, ignoring my tone and coming to stand over me. "Well, speaking of the Doctor, he wanted to talk to you."

"I know. He came by a while ago."

"Did you talk?"

"Nope."

"Cerys, you should talk to him."

"What for?"

"Because you both need it. As weird as it is, you make him better. You were able to talk him out of killing the Dalek."

"No, that was you."

"He listened to _you_, Cerys. The Doctor opened the bulkhead because you were there. He dropped the gun because _you_ were there. He'd listen _you_ long before he did me."

"He would have done it either way."

"Why are you doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"Countering everything I'm saying? The Doctor listens to you. He cares about you and your opinion."

"That man today, that wasn't the Doctor. That was a stranger. You caught a glimpse of it, Rose but I saw it all. He was going to murder the Dalek. He admitted to killing the entire race. He said things to it that had me truly question him. I hate what he was, what he became."

"But that was supposed to be his enemy. Imagine it being your uncle."

"I wouldn't tell him to kill himself, to die! I didn't try to kill him." Tears had started to crest.

"Just talk to him."

"No. I can't and I won't."

Rose sighed, knowing she wouldn't get me to talk to him. "You know, you two are perfect for each other. Neither of you want to talk about your problems. But you know what, sooner or later you're going to. Then what? Yeah, you might not have liked that side of him but you're no picnic when you're upset either."

"He wasn't just upset. It was like he went mad. Crazy with anger and grief."

"His people are gone and the Dalek was the cause of it. Can you blame him?"

"Why are you sticking up for him?"

"I'm not. He's moping around and muttering to himself. I just, I don't know, felt bad."

"Well I am fine. I was completely at ease before you came in here. I would like to return to that state."

"No you weren't. You were thinking. I don't know what about but if you were at ease, like you said, I guess I'll leave you to it." She started to leave but turned back to me. "You're going to have to talk to him. Whatever's going on between you two should be sorted out." I shrugged and closed my eyes, listening to the door close.

When Rose had been gone for ten minutes, I quietly asked the Tardis not to let anyone in the room. A low hum was all I received. I smiled, knowing that I would be left alone for as long as I desired. Standing, I stripped and went to bathe. While I was in there, I thought about what had happened. Although our second adventure to 1869 had affected me, this one had almost destroyed me. Everything the Doctor said reminded me of my time in America; those same words being said to me in some aspect. He didn't know that but it still hurt. It still made me feel like I was a little girl being told I was worthless and that no one wanted me around. The tears I shed those three years could have filled a pond or river. Getting out of the tub, I drained the water and quickly dressed. After drying my hair, I crawled into bed and cried myself to sleep. Soon the nightmares overcame me.

* * *

_Hey there. So I just wanted to say thanks for sticking around. I am so glad you are enjoying the story so far. If I'm being honest, this is my first go at fan fiction and although it's fun, it is definitely not easy. I'm trying to keep the Doctor himself and not writing him in a way he isn't. I think that's one of my biggest fears with fan fiction. _

_Cerys has to be one of my favorite characters at the moment. I love strong female characters and that's how I'm trying to make her, while keeping that bit of vulnerability. I honestly can't wait until I start posting Martha's season. It will be fluff galore (Human Nature and Family of Blood) and a lot of tension. But it'll be fun. Definitely want to stick around for that. _

_Oh, and I'm thinking of doing a Sherlock fanfic. I have some ideas written down but I'm still deciding whether to do it or not. I still haven't watched the Fall ( I hate endings) or Season 3... yet. I also needed to figure out how I would break up the chapters. Currently, I write out the entire episode and watch it afterwards, making corrections and adding in details, and then think about how to break it up but that takes so much time and effort, especially when I **don't** watch the episode and just keep on writing, landing me in a heep of trouble with uploading. On my Wattpad account, I have to watch the episodes before I post which is extremely annoying but it must be done. _

_FYI as they said in the old days (see what I did there? If anyone can guess where that line's from let me know. :})I will be skipping The Long Game and Father's Day. There's a reason, mostly having to do with this chapter/episode and Cerys' fragile state of mind. There will be episodes I skip in the future but I'll let you know before I post. __Anyways, thanks for reading. I can't wait to read your reviews. They honestly make my day._


	11. The Dreams that Make the Past

_"You're worthless, an abomination. You'll be the end of us. It's your father's people who attack us."_

_"She must be punished for her father's crimes."_

_"Forced regeneration?"_

_"Death!"_

_"Why would you kill me for something I didn't do? You are supposed to be an advanced race!"_

_"Quiet you foul creature," one's thunderous voice said__ as he stood and stabbed me. "Take her away. Lock her up. Leave her until the end of days." I was dragged away, bleeding out and slowly dying. Along the way, I locked eyes with the only person who showed any sympathy. Then I faded into darkness._

I jolted awake, feeling as if my life were in danger. Jumping out of the bed, I searched for a bag to stuff some clothes into. In ten minutes, I was dressed and packed. As I placed my hand on the doorknob, there was a soft hum that I immediately recognized, the Tardis. Within seconds, I realized where I was and dropped the bag and fell to the floor sniffling. Whoever the girl in my dream was, I felt bad for her. The people wanted to punish her for something beyond her control, something she had no part in. My body shook with each new sob. It wasn't right, nor was it fair. But the one man that had looked at her, that had felt sorry for her, his eyes seemed so familiar.

After a few minutes had passed, I felt more exhausted than ever. I crawled into my bed, not bothering to change and reached into my pillowcase. I pulled out my bottle of sleeping pills. Downing four, I relaxed my breathing until I felt the effects. I was hoping it would give me a dreamless slumber but I was never that lucky.

_Running, that's all I ever did. I ran from my family and now I'm running from my best friend, my love. If he knew what I was, he'd toss me aside, just like everyone else. I was a freak, an abomination. The Council was right. I didn't deserve to live. He had helped me escape. He had given me hope, the nice man. Those kind brown eyes would forever be ingrained in my mind. I shook my head, focusing solely on running. If I could get far enough, I should be somewhat safe. The guards wouldn't come out this far for me, no matter how much Rassilon thought he needed me. I refused to be a weapon. I refused to be used again. My parents were gone, sent away on a secret mission that would lead them to their deaths. The fob watch charm on my bracelet smacked against my bare flesh, bringing it to my attention. They had given it to me before they left. I wasn't supposed to take it off, it was to protect me. Tears began to fall as I thought of my parents but I quickly wiped them away. I had to do this, I had to get away. I continued to run until I found a shack. Entering it, I sat on the floor, saying my last goodbyes. Reaching for the bracelet, I opened the charm and let my essence enter it. With my last remaining strength, I pressed a button on my vortex manipulator and disappeared, leaving all memories of home and Him behind. This was going to kill him. After all we'd been through, **I** was leaving him... alone. I could never forgive myself for that, but I could only hope that if we met again, he would find it in his heart to forgive my betrayal._

I sat up in the bed, looking around. Although I knew I was safe, the feeling remained. I sighed, getting out of bed and walked around the room. I hadn't gotten much sleep and I was a bit irritated that the pills barely worked but there was nothing I could do about it. As I strode to the closet, my stomach growled. I groaned, not wanting to leave the room. As much as I wanted to remain in the room, I knew that I needed to eat something. Mustering up the little courage I had, I quietly snuck out of the room and made my way to the kitchen.

Walking down the corridors, I noticed how quiet the Tardis was. Curious, I went to check the console room. Sure enough, the Doctor and Rose weren't there. With a smile on my face, I turned and went to the kitchen. Finally there, I made myself a small feast of things that would survive without a fridge. When I finished cooking, I brought it all to my room. I then returned to the kitchen to clean up the mess I had made. I didn't want them to know I had left my room, especially Rose. She would probably come knocking on the door demanding for me to open the door.

Once I had eaten, I went to shower. Getting out, I heard a knock on my door. I sighed but didn't answer. Whoever it was knew I wasn't going to answer. I hadn't opened that door to anyone in two days, spending the first sleeping. Ignoring the person didn't deter them from knocking. From the ferocity of the knocks, I knew it was Rose. Then again, the Doctor hadn't come by since he tried to talk to me. I was glad when it stopped. "Cerys. Please open the door. I can't do this. I need my best friend." There was a pause as if she were anticipating an answer. She continued when I said nothing. "I know you're upset with us but we missed you on our adventure. The Doctor didn't say it but he wasn't into it as much as he would have if you were there. He wasn't even all that nice. Not like he normally is, he was worse. I don't know. I just wish you'd come out of there. It's scaring me. The Doctor said the Tardis would tell us if something happened to you but I'd prefer to have you around. Well, I'm off to bed. You can always come over. We could have a bit of gossip and all." She was silent for a moment. "Please don't let your thoughts get the better of you. You're stronger than that Cer." I stared at the door wanting to fling it open and hug her but my legs wouldn't move. Turning away from the door, I quickly put on shorts and a sweater before I climbed back into bed.

_Crying. That's all I ever did. I cried for my parents, for my best friend, for the life I never wanted and tried to end, even for the man with the brown eyes. I didn't let anyone know that I cried. It was better that way. I didn't want pity. I wanted to be strong but I was the farthest from it. The first time was when I was twelve. I had snuck into my uncle's cabinet and stole a bottle of his whiskey and Valium. It almost worked but my uncle found me lying on the floor and had me committed. The second time was at the hospital. I'd found an area no one really went and tried to hang myself. Unfortunately, someone walked by and saw me. The third time was when I was thirteen. My uncle had moved, taking me with him. In the new place, no one knew my history. Instead of doing something that would make me go quickly, I starved myself to the brink of death. The teachers were aware of it and called the local hospital where I was put in a program to recover. After that, I returned to my uncle's home and packed a bag. I stole all the money he had and ran away, hitching rides to the nearest airport where I bought a ticket and returned to London. The thoughts didn't stop. At sixteen I tried again. Depression had its hold on me and I wanted it to end. I had slit my wrists, adding more scars to the plethora that littered my skin. I thought I was home alone but Rose had been asleep. She found me. Her expression haunted me more than anything else. I barely tried again. I couldn't bear to put Jackie and Rose through that. I was just reckless, putting myself in harm's way and if anything happened, it would be an accident. One did happen, it almost killed me. A friend was driving and wrapped the car around a pole. I wanted them to give up on me but Jackie and Rose wouldn't let them. I've always taken their love for granted and I've always felt guilty about that._

My eyes fluttered open as I thought about my dream. It was more like looking into my past. My cheeks were warm and wet; I had been crying again. I rolled over and pulled myself out of bed. I don't know how long I'd slept but I was slightly refreshed. Grinning, I stretched and padded over to the bathroom. Glancing in the mirror, I examined my face. My curly brown hair was disheveled from sleep and my skin wasn't as pale as usual. My hazel eyes shone a bit brighter as well. It seemed as if that dream was what I needed to come back. Sighing, I decided to do something with my hair. Opening the cupboard, I found a flat iron. After plugging it in and waiting for it to heat up, I began the mundane and time consuming task of straightening my curly locks.

Hours had passed before I had finished my hair. When I had straightened the last piece, I added anti-frizz to it and checked how it looked. My hair was bone straight, reaching the small of my back. I had deeply parted it and had used most of the front as a side fringe. Happy with my work, I turned off the flat iron and unplugged it, setting it aside to cool as I started to clean up. When everything was fixed up, I put my hair up and wrapped a silk scarf around it to keep it from getting messed up as I slept. Shutting off the bathroom light, I wandered to the bed and collapsed onto it.

As I laid there, I thought about everything that had happened since boarding the Tardis and everything before. I was a mess, there was no denying that. I was grateful for what I'd experienced though. They made me who I was. Yet I couldn't help but think of who I had become. If things were different, if my parents were still alive, would I be different? Would I have met Rose and Jackie and the Doctor? The Doctor, the only person besides Rose I had around to talk to. Although he had scared me and made me feel as I did when I was younger, although he hadn't known, he was an overall good person. He understood me to some degree, more than Rose did. Maybe I was just being a spoiled brat for not talking to him. I wanted to talk to him but that small argument in the car still bothered me. Was I only here because he wanted Rose around? Was I really the third wheel? Did he feel so sorry for me that he took me along? I let out an irritated groan. It wouldn't be anything new to me if that were the case. Rose was beautiful, outgoing, and capable. She was every guy's dream girl while I was just the rebellious chick no one wanted to bother. While she had guys trailing after her, I was often the butt of guys' jokes. I knew I was nothing special but I wanted that kind of attention every so often. But good things rarely happened to me. Tears slipped down my cheeks as I thought about it all. Maybe I should just ask him to take me home. Then he could have Rose to himself; the two of them could travel together and not have to worry about me. Yet the more I entertained the idea, the more I wanted to stay. Rose had said she needed me, that she missed me. If me holing myself up in my room did that to her, then what would me leaving do? The Doctor seemed to be put off by my absence as well. I sighed, feeling guilty. I was adding more stress. Maybe I should just leave. I continued to think for what felt like hours before I finally fell asleep.

_"No one wants her. I've condemned our daughter, Marhi. Your people will come after her and try to use her as a weapon."_

_"Kalistar, it is not your fault. They allowed us to marry. The Council used us."_

_"What can I do? If I retaliate I could lose you both and if I don't we lose our precious child."_

_"We'll figure something out. They can't use her until her two hundredth year."_

_"I am afraid they will not wait. The war looms over us like the plague. There is only a matter of time before we are invaded."_

_"And they will fight."_

_"What of us? Even if we don't live, she must. If the enemy learns of her they will either kill her or use her against us."_

_"We will think of something. I know it." The two embraced each other, neither really knowing what their daughter's future held._

I got out of bed and got dressed. It had been four days since I'd had any human (or alien) contact and although I had slightly enjoyed my solitude, my mind was a dangerous place and all the thinking was starting to get to me. The blades that I had hidden were calling me, as were the thoughts that often began the usual spiral. I didn't want to end up that way again, I didn't want to hurt Rose and Jackie again. The one thing that terrified me the most was that I knew it would probably be the worse than ever. I didn't want to spiral into that pattern. I knew it would happen soon but I didn't want it to be now, I wanted to be happy and not have to worry about that at the moment. I just wanted to be normal for a while.

After a shower, I brushed my teeth and washed my face. Once I'd dried myself off, I dressed in my usual outfit and removed the scarf and let my hair fall. It was a bit wavy but it hadn't curled or frizzed up to my content. I could deal with the wave seeing as it added a bit more to the style I'd put it in; finger combing it all to one side. Once I was happy with my appearance, I went to the door. Taking in a deep breath, I opened the door and began the trek to the console room to find Rose and the Doctor.

* * *

_Hey all. So this was obviously an original chapter (please let me know if you liked it). So, I wanted to give more insight into Cerys and about those dreams she'd had. For the most part, the dreams give hints to future chapters. This was extremely Doctor light since I wanted it to be solely on Cerys and all. But I can't wait to hear your thoughts on it. I love seeing reviews and on top of that, I may or may not add a little teaser at the end of one of these chapters if I get at least 5 reviews. _

_But yeah, sorry about the delay as well. I haven't been home on the regular, with school, work, and a small social life, all being the reason I am two days late with uploading. I will be doing so on time for the rest of the week although next week I'm going away so I might not be able to update, but I'll let you know what my plan is for that on the next upload day. _


	12. The Empty Child

I found the two standing around the console quietly talking to each other. As I watched them, I began to wonder what I had missed. I hadn't ventured into the room completely; it was more of me leaning against the doorframe. There was a slight hesitation to enter and an overwhelming urge to run back to my room. Before I could succumb to that itch, Rose turned and saw me. A smile quickly came to her face and she began to walk towards me. I let her engulf me in a hug. "I'm so glad you came out of that room. I've missed you." I nodded as she released me. I looked towards the Doctor hoping he'd come over and say something but he just stood there, looking at the controls. I had hoped he'd say something but I didn't really expect much.

"So," I started, turning to Rose. "What have I missed?"

"Well, the Doctor, Adam, and I went to the year two hundred thousand. It was a space station, broadcasting news all over the galaxy. The people had chips in their heads, literally making them walking computers. There was this whole undercover thing going on and everything. People were getting promotions and never coming back but the Doctor and I set it right with the help of a girl named Cathica. She was brilliant. Ended up being this big alien, the Jagrafess and the Editor. We were detained for a bit but Cathica rerouted the heat up to Floor 500 and killed the creature."

"Sounds fun. Wait, what about Adam?"

"He ended up getting a chip and trying to use information to make himself rich or something. We dropped him off home. Seems like my judgment was a bit off."

"Chip and all?"

"The Doctor destroyed the answering machine and all the information he took. As for the chip, he still has it. I wonder what his mum thinks of it," she giggled. I smiled and urged her on. "We went to see my dad too."

"How'd that go?"

"I watched mum and him get married. Dad got her name wrong. Then we went to the day he died. I mussed up and saved him. The Doctor was so angry. We had an argument and he took away the Tardis key. Turns out dad was playing around. She thought I was one of his girls. Anyways, these things appeared because I saved him. Then I messed up again, touched the baby, touched myself, and let one of those monsters in. The Doctor sacrificed himself to save us. Then the Tardis disappeared. They were gone, the both of them. Then my dad ran out, he let himself get hit by the car. It fixed everything and the Doctor came back. My dad, he wasn't alone this time, I was with him as he died."

"He wasn't that upset then."

"What do you mean?"

"You said you went at it with the Doctor and he took away the key. If he wanted to, he could have brought you home but he didn't. He wasn't that upset at you."

"Maybe. But he was still horrible to deal with. Kept on insulting humans. He kept pretending it didn't bother him but he kept walking past our rooms and would spend most down time in the library. He missed you."

"I doubt it. He probably-" I was cut off by the flashing red light and the sudden jostling. Rose and I glanced at each other before she ran over to the Doctor, clutching the console as it shook. I hung back, using a Y beam for support.

"What's the emergency?"

"It's mauve."

"Mauve?"

"The universally recognized color for danger," he answered, looking at the monitor and pressed buttons.

"What happened to red?"

Rose ran moved closer to him, looking at the monitor as he spoke. "That's just humans. By everyone else's standards, red's camp. Oh, the misunderstandings. All those red alerts, all that dancing." The Doctor fiddled with the console as I clutched the wall, watching the two of them. "It's got a very basic flight computer. I've hacked in, slaved the Tardis. Where it goes, we go."

"And that's safe, is it?"

"Totally," the Doctor replied before pulling a lever that caused sparks to fly and a loud bang. "Okay, reasonably. Should have said reasonably there. No, no, no, no! It's jumping time tracks, getting away from us."

"What exactly is this thing?"

"No idea."

"Then why are we chasing it?"

"It's mauve and dangerous," he stopped looking at her, "and about thirty seconds from the center of London."

When the Tardis landed, I walked out behind Rose and the Doctor. We were in a back alley between two buildings. I looked around, taking in the area. Cloth lines with flapping garments were hung between the two brick stone apartments. There was a half wall between them, barely cutting off sight to the other side and garbage was strewn on the floor. "Do you know how long you can knock around space without happening to bump into Earth?" the Doctor asked.

"Five days? Or is that just when we're out of milk?"

"Of all the species in all the Universe and it has to come out of a cow."

"Must have come down somewhere quite close. Within a mile, anyway." The Doctor and Rose started to walk away, leaving me behind. Rose must have noticed because she reached her hand back and grasped mine before she got too far. "And it can't have been more than a few weeks ago. Maybe a month."

"A month? We were right behind it."

"It was jumping time tracks all over the place. We're bound to be a little bit out. Do you want to drive?"

"Yeah. How much is a little?"

"A bit."

"Is that exactly a bit?"

"Ish."

"What's the plan, then? Are you going to do a scan for alien tech or something?"

"Rose, it hit the middle of London with a very loud bang. I'm going to ask," he replied, showing her the psychic paper.

"Doctor John Smith, Ministry of Asteroids."

"It's psychic paper. It tells you-"

"Whatever you want it to tell me, I remember," Rose finished with a smile. We stopped in front of a door that said 'Deliveries Only'.

"Sorry."

"Not very Spock, is it, just asking."

The Doctor put his ears to the black door. "Door, music, people. What do you think?"

"I think you should do a scan for alien tech. Give me some Spock, for once. Would it kill you?" As the Doctor tried to open the door, he turned to Rose, glancing up at her shirt. "Are you sure about t-shirt?"

Rose looked down at it, pushing her hair aside a bit. "Too early to say. I'm taking it out for a spin."

As we stood there waiting for the Doctor to open the door, Rose and I heard a voice. "Mummy? Mummy?"

"Come on if you're coming. It won't take a minute." Without waiting for a reply, he walked inside.

"Mummy?" We glanced up, shocked to see a little boy in a gasmask on the roof of a building. We looked at each other trying to figure out what to do.

"Doctor?" Rose called. "Doctor? There's a kid up there!"

"Are you alright up there?"

"Mummy?"

"Cerys, you go with the Doctor. I'll get the kid." I groaned and rolled my eyes before walking into the building. As I entered, I looked around, quickly taking in the place. We had gone in from the storage entrance seeing as boxes littered along the wall. I quickly made my way to where towards the music, stopping as I reached the beaded curtain seeing the Doctor leaning against the wall. Sighing, I stood on the other side of him. As my eyes flicked to the walls, I noticed the posters, most talking about bombs and Hitler. I sighed, knowing that whatever the Doctor was going to ask would get us nowhere.

Once the singer finished, I watched as the Doctor took her place in front of the mic. "Excuse me. Excuse me. Could I have everybody's attention just for a mo? Be very quick. Hello! Might seem like a stupid question, but has anything fallen from the sky recently?" The club goers we silent for a moment before the place erupted in laughter. "Sorry, have I said something funny? It's just, there's this thing that I need to find. Would've fallen from the sky a couple of days ago." Suddenly a siren went off and everyone stood and began to leave. The Doctor remained on the stage, trying to speak over the noise. "Would've landed quite near here. With a very loud-" I glanced at him and then the poster that said 'Hitler will send no warning!'

"Quickly as you can, down to the shelter."

I watched the Doctor looked around, putting two and two together. "Bang." He then jumped down and ran out of the door, not giving me the slightest glance. I groaned, a bit hurt but feeling as if I deserved it. Trying not to think about it, I followed him outside.

"Rose?" he called out before he went over and picked up a black kitten with a white muzzle and mittens that had meowed. I looked up on the roof hoping to see her to no avail. "You know, one day, just one day, maybe, I'm going to meet someone who gets the whole don't wander off thing. Nine hundred years of phone box travel, it's the only thing left to surprise me." He was interrupted by the Tardis phone ringing. Setting down the cat, he went over to the Tardis. I looked at it curiously and in awe.

"Is it supposed to do that?"

He ignored me and opened the small door. "How can you be ringing? What's that about, ringing? What am I supposed to do with a ringing phone?" He pulled out his sonic screwdriver as a girl walked up to us.

"Don't answer it. It's not for you."

I glanced at her but said nothing, letting the Doctor do all the talking. He walked towards her. "And how do you know that?"

"'Cos I do. And I'm telling you, don't answer it."

The Doctor looked at her. "Well, if you know so much, tell me this. How can it be ringing?" He turned away, walking back to the phone. As he did that, I watched her slink off. "It's not even a real phone. It's not connected, it's not-" he stopped when turned and saw that she was gone. Shrugging, he hesitantly answered the phone. "Hello? Hello? This is the Doctor speaking. How may I help you?"

"Mummy?" I shivered at the voice. "Mummy?"

"Who is this? Who's speaking."

"Are you my mummy?"

"Who is this?"

"Mummy?"

"How did you ring here? This isn't a real phone. It's not wired up to anything."

"Mummy?"

There was a dial tone and then he hung up, knocking on the Tardis door. "Rose isn't in there. She went looking for the little boy you were talking to," I told him.

"Rose? Rose, are you in there?" I rolled my eyes and went to lean on the wall. His constant ignoring me was beginning to irritate me. As I stood there, there was a noise, the sound of garbage bins clacking. Again he took off without giving me any warnings. Pushing myself off the wall, I ran after him.

We ran to the end of the alley until we reached the corner, where the Doctor abruptly stopped. I crashed into him, his sudden stop catching me off guard. I fell to the ground, wincing in pain. After a moment, I stood and brushed myself off. The Doctor was looking around at everything but me. I looked down, not sure what to say or do. I was confused, angry, and scared for Rose. Glancing up, I found the Doctor eyeing me. I quickly averted my gaze to one of the houses. A few seconds later, I found his arms wrapped around me. I quickly placed mine around his waist, brandishing a small when he squeezed me. He released me after a few minutes, grasping my chin so that I was looking at him. "Are you alright?" I nodded. "Not just about the fall. I meant in general."

"Yes." I turned my head, looking away. "No."

"What is it?"

"I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"You know what. I'm not going to say it. Not here, not now."

He turned my head so that we were looking at each other again. I tried not to look into his eyes but he made it difficult. "What I said to the Dalek, I didn't know…"

"I know."

"You should have told me."

"Honestly Doctor," I sighed, "you should have noticed how your words affected me but you didn't. You let your pain and rage take over and blind you. I'm not saying that what it did was right but in the end, there was pain on both sides and you ended up dishing out more, whether it was intentional or not. I'm not happy with you but I'm not going to hold it against you. Besides, it doesn't matter, it was in the past, er, the future." He smiled at me but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He dropped his hands from my face and looked around. When he had found what he was looking for, he grasped my hand and pulled me along with him towards a house. The backyard was covered by the brick fence but the Doctor climbed on top of the bins that were there and peered over. I could hear a woman and man arguing, the man more irate than the woman about the air raid. When we could no longer hear them, the Doctor climbed down. "The girl from earlier."

"What about her?"

"She's in that house."

"Meaning?"

"We're joining her for supper," he said with a smile after there was a whistle and the pitter patter of running feet. I smiled at him as we both took off to the house.

Walking in, we heard the people talking. Glancing at each other, we silently walked into the dining room. Thinking it was a family, we were a bit surprised to see the girl from earlier and a table full of kids. They were so busy looking at the food and placing some on their plates that they didn't notice we had also taken seats. The food was passed around until it got to the Doctor. I watched as he took two slices of turkey and then placed another on my plate. "Thanks miss," he said, causing panic amongst the children. They all stared at us in shock, some standing ready to run.

"It's alright. Everybody stay where you are!"

"Good here, innit? Who's got the salt?" I rolled my eyes but passed him the salt shaker. "Thank you."

"Back to your seats. He shouldn't be here either." The children warily sat down and after a while, began to eat, their stomachs overpowering their urge to run.

"So, you lot, what's the story?"

"What do you mean?" a boy asked.

"You're homeless, right? Living rough?"

"Why do you want to know that? Are you a copper?"

"Of course I'm not a copper. What's a copper going to do with you lot anyway? Arrest you for starving?" The children laughed. "I make it 1941-"

"You guys shouldn't be here. Why weren't you evacuated to the country?" I asked, interrupting the Doctor.

"I was evacuated. Sent me to a farm."

"So why'd you come back?"

"There was a man there."

"Yeah, same with Ernie. Two homes ago."

"Shut up. It's better on the streets anyway. It's better food," Ernie said.

"I bet," I replied with a smile.

"Yeah. Nancy always gets the best food for us."

I looked at the girl, happy to finally have a name. "So, that's what you do, is it, Nancy?"

"What is?"

"As soon as the sirens go, you find a big fat family meal still warm on the table with everyone down in the air raid shelter and bingo! Feeding frenzy for the homeless kids of London Town. Puddings for all, as long as the bombs don't get you."

"Something wrong with that?" she asked defensively.

"Wrong with it? It's brilliant. I'm not sure if it's Marxism in action or a West End musical."

"Why'd you follow me? What do you want?"

"I want to know how a phone that isn't a phone gets a phone call. You seem to be the one to ask."

"I did you a favor. I told you not to answer it, that's all I'm telling you."

"Great, thanks. And I want to find a blonde in a Union Jack. I mean a specific one. I didn't just wake up this morning with a craving. Anybody seen a girl like that?" I watched as Nancy took his plate after he finished up the sentence. "What have I done?"

I nudged him, getting his attention. "There are children at the table and you're going on about craving a blonde."

"You took two slices. No blondes, no flags. You should be ashamed of yourself talking about another woman with your lady by your side," she chastised, giving me a sympathetic smile. "Anything else before you leave?"

"Yeah, there is actually. Thanks for asking. Something I've been looking for. Would've fallen from the sky about a month ago, but not a bomb. Not the usual kind, anyway. Wouldn't have exploded. Probably would have just buried itself in the ground somewhere, and it would have looked something like this," he asked as he began to draw on a napkin. As he showed them, I watched Nancy as a glimmer of recognition passed through her eyes. I looked away when there was a knock on the door and the children jumped in fear.

"Mummy? Are you in there, mummy?" I looked out the window seeing the boy from the roof. A shiver made its way down my spine. "Mummy?"

"Who was the last one in?"

"Him," Ernie answered pointing to another boy.

"No, he came in round the back. Who came in the front?"

"Me," another boy answered.

"Did you close the door?"

"Er…"

"Did you close the door?"

"Mummy? Mummy? Mummy?" I watched as Nancy ran out into the hallway and bolted the front door. I stood walked to her, the Doctor following.

"That's not really nice, Nancy."

"It's never easy being the only child left out in the cold, you know."

"I suppose you'd know."

"I do actually, yes." I looked up at the Doctor and then took hold of his hand. He glanced down at me and smiled.

"It's not exactly a child," she replied.

"Mummy?"

"Right," Nancy said, turning around and reentering the dining room, me following closely. "Everybody out. Across the back garden and under the fence. Now! Go! Move!" All the kids grabbed their coats and retreated from the house. One little girl was left, sitting in the chair terrified. "Come on, baby, we've got to go, all right? It's just like a game. Just like chasing. Take your coat, go on. Go!" The girl finally got herself up and together before following the other kids. When they were gone, I went back to the Doctor.

"Mummy? Mummy? Please let me in, mummy. Please let me in, mummy." I leant against the wall, trying not to let his cries bother me. I knew how the kid felt, unwanted and dejected. A small hand came through the letter box.

"Are you alright?"

"Please let me in."

I glared at Nancy as she threw glass at the door, causing the hand to disappear. "What was that for?"

"You mustn't let him touch you!"

"What happens if he touches me?"

"He'll make you like him."

"And what's that?" I questioned.

"I've got to go."

"Nancy," the Doctor started. "What's he like?"

"He's empty." Nancy and I jumped as the telephone rang. "It's him. He can make phones ring. He can. Just like with that police box you saw." The Doctor looked at us and went to answer the phone.

"Are you my mummy?" Nancy snatched the phone and placed it back on the hook. Then the radio in the dining room came on. "Mummy? Please let me in, mummy." This continued as a clockwork monkey started to go off. "Mummy, mummy, mummy." Nancy began to back away as if trying to get away from it.

"You stay if you want to," she said before she ran out the back door. Once she'd left, the little boy pushed his hand through the letterbox again. This time I noticed a scar on the back of his hand in the shape of an 'X'.

"Mummy? Please let me in, mummy. Please let me in."

"You're mummy isn't here."

"Are you my mummy?"

"No mummies here. Nobody here but us chickens. Well, two chickens."

"I'm scared."

I inched towards the door only to be stopped by the Doctor. When I looked up at him, he shook his head. "Why are those children frightened of you?"

"Please let me in, mummy. I'm scared of the bombs."

"Okay. I'm opening the door now." The little boy slowly removed his hand. The Doctor unbolted the door and opened it. To our surprise, the boy was gone, with no sign of him ever being there or running down the street. The Doctor and I glanced at each other questioningly, wondering how something like that could happen.

"How?"

"No idea."

"It seems like Nancy has all the answers. The only thing is, why is she so reluctant to say anything?"

"Don't know. Maybe we should find out."

"We don't know where she went," I stated.

"Sure we do. Come along now," he said as he grabbed my hand and led me out of the house.

After a bit of running, we were at a shack in some railway sidings. We watched as Nancy entered it and went to stand by the door, waiting for her to exit. When she did, she jumped not expecting to see us." How'd you follow me here?"

"I'm good at following, me. Got the nose for it."

"People can't usually follow me if I don't want them to."

"His nose has special powers."

"Yeah? That's why it's…" I smirked at her, knowing what she wanted to say.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"What?"

"Nothing. Do your ears have special powers too?" she remarked with a smile. I giggled, enjoying her presence as she spoke.

"I believe they do, Nancy." She smiled at me while the Doctor looked between us, confused.

"What are you trying to say?" he asked her before turning to me. "What do you mean?"

"Goodnight, Mister, Miss."

"Cerys. No miss here." Nancy smiled at me again before she started to walk off.

"Nancy, there's something chasing you and the other kids. Looks like a boy and it isn't a boy, and it started about a month ago, right? The thing I'm looking for, the thing that fell from the sky, that's when it landed. And you know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

Nancy turned to face us. "There was a bomb. A bomb that wasn't a bomb. Fell the other end of Limehouse Green Station."

"Take us there."

She shook her head. "There's soldiers guarding it. Barbed wire. You'll never get through."

"Trust me, he can get in almost anywhere."

"You sure you want to know what's going on in there?"

"We really want to know."

"Then there's someone you need to talk to first."

"And who might that be?"

"The doctor."

"Well," I smiled, walking over to her, "would you mind taking us there?" She glanced at me warily before nodding.

"I'm not coming in with you."

"I wouldn't ask you to."

"Good," she finished before walking off with the Doctor and me in tow.

We had walked for a while before Nancy stopped atop the stairs. The Doctor pulled binoculars from his pocket and looked through them. "The bomb's under that tarpaulin. They put the fence up overnight." She pointed past the tarpaulin as the Doctor passed me the binoculars. "See that building? The hospital." I nodded and returned them to the Doctor.

"What about it?"

"That's where the doctor is. You should talk to him."

"For now, we're more interested in getting in there."

"Actually, I think we should talk to him." The Doctor glanced at me, wondering why I was suddenly so interested with speaking with the doctor. "It could help us figure out what's wrong with the little boy."

"I suppose," he started. "Why though?" I shrugged my shoulders, not really having another explanation.

"Because then maybe you won't want to get inside."

"Doubt that," I muttered as Nancy began to walk off again.

"Where are you going?"

"There was a lot of food in that house. I've got mouths to feed. Should be safe enough now."

"Can I ask you a question?" he started, waiting for her response to continue. "Who did you lose?"

"What?"

"The way you look after all those kids. It's because you lost somebody, isn't it? You're doing all this to make up for it."

"My little brother. Jamie. One night I went out looking for food. Same night that thing fell. I told him not to follow me, I told him it was dangerous, but he just. He just didn't like being on his own."

"What happened?"

"In the middle of an air raid? What do you think happened?"

He huffed out a breath, donning a small smile. "Amazing." I watched, not saying anything until he explained himself.

"What is?"

"1941. Right now, not very far from here, the German war machine is rolling up the map of Europe. Country after country, falling like dominoes. Nothing can stop it. Nothing. Until one, tiny, damp little island says no. No. Not here, he chuckled, "a mouse in front of a lion. You're amazing, the lot of you. Don't know what you do to Hitler, but you frighten the hell out of me. Off you go then do what you've got to do. Save the world." I smiled as he finished, grabbing my hand and leading me down the stairs. "Alright then, just you and me."

"Yep. You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all," he answered as we headed off to the hospital.

Albion Hospital sent chills down my spine. It was eerily quiet for the middle of the Second World War. The Doctor released my hand for a moment to unlock the padlocked gates with his sonic screwdriver. When it was opened, he took my hand and led me to the door. I was glad for his hand. It comforted me, helped to push away the fear I felt. We walked down a long corridor before we reached the first ward. Walking through the darkened ward, I observed that every bed was filled with an extremely still person, a patient, each wearing a gas mask. As I observed them, an elderly man entered the room.

"You'll find them everywhere. In every bed, in every ward. Hundreds of them."

"Yes, I saw. Why are they still wearing gas masks?" the Doctor asked.

"They're not. Who are you?"

"I'm, er…"

"Are you the doctor?"

The man's eyes landed on me. A wave of sadness and pain hit me. I slightly grimaced, trying not to let it bother me too much. I inched back a bit, falling behind the Doctor. "Doctor Constantine. And you are?"

"Nancy sent us."

"Nancy? That means you must've been asking about the bomb."

"Yes."

"What do you know about it?"

"Nothing. Why I was asking. What do you know?"

"Only what it's done."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Those people, they were all caught up in the blast?"

"None of them were?" Doctor Constantine chuckled a bit before he started to cough. I rushed over to him and started to help him to a chair but he swatted me away. I backed away, respecting his wishes.

"You're very sick."

"Dying, I should think. I just haven't been able to find the time. Are you a doctor?"

" Not me but this one has his moments," I said, jerking my thumb to the Doctor.

"Have you examined any of them yet?"

"No."

"Don't touch the flesh."

"Which one?"

"Any one." The Doctor nodded and then walked over to the nearest patient. I watched as he pointed the sonic at him. "Conclusions?"

"Massive head trauma, mostly to the left side. Partial collapse of the chest cavity, mostly to the right. There's some scarring on the back of the hand and the gas mask seems to be fused to the flesh, but I can't see any burns."

"Examine another one."

The Doctor did as he was told. "This isn't possible."

"Examine another."

"This isn't possible."

"No."

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

"They've all got the same injuries."

"But how?"

The Doctor shrugged but kept his attention on Constantine. "Yes."

"Exactly the same."

"Yes."

"Identical, all of them, right down to the scar on the back of the hand." With that, I immediately thought of the little boy. I looked at Doctor Constantine's hand and saw he had the scar. When he noticed my gaze, he pulled his hand back, as if to hide it. Then I realized he had rejected my help in order to protect me. "How did this happen? How did it start?"

"When that bomb dropped, there was just one victim."

"Dead?"

"At first. His injuries were truly dreadful. By the following morning, every doctor and nurse who had treated him, who had touched him, had those exact same injuries. By the morning after that, every patient in the same ward, the exact same injuries. Within a week, the entire hospital. Physical injuries as plague. Can you explain that? What would you say was the cause of death?"

"The head trauma."

"No."

"Asphyxiation."

"No." I shook my head, catching what Constantine was saying.

"The collapse of the chest cavity-"

"No."

"All right. What was the cause of death?"

"There wasn't one. They're not dead." Doctor Constantine hit a bin with his cane. The Doctor and I watched in shock as they sat up in their beds at the sound of the noise. I backed away a bit more, with the Doctor pushing me behind him. "It's all right. They're harmless. They just sort of sit there. No heartbeat, no life signs of any kind. They just don't die."

"And they've all just been left here? Nobody's doing anything?" The patients slowly laid back down.

"I try and make them comfortable. What else is there?"

"Just you?" I asked softly.

"Before this war began, I was a father and a grandfather. Now I am neither. But I'm still a doctor."

"Yeah. I know the feeling." I glanced at the Doctor as he said that, his face expressionless and his eyes on the wall.

"I suspect the plan is to blow up the hospital and blame it on a German bomb."

"Probably too late."

"No. There are isolated cases. Isolated cases breaking out all over London." He leant forward and the Doctor and I moved to help him, the Doctor more so than me. Doctor Constantine was changing and it was only a matter of time before he was no longer himself. "Stay back, stay back. Listen to me. Top floor. Room eight oh two. That's where they took the first victim, the one from the crash site. And you must find Nancy again."

"Nancy?"

"It was her brother. She knows more than she's saying. She won't tell me, but she might-" I watched in horror as his expression changed and he grabbed his neck. "Mummy. Are you my mummy?" As he finished, his face began to change. A cylinder nozzle began to force its way out of his mouth and his pupils became so dilated that his eyes became black. Soon he was another gas mask zombie. As we stood there in shock, I heard the voice of a man calling out, followed by the familiar voice of Rose. Glancing at the Doctor, I took off into the corridor and bumped into her.

"Rose! I'm so glad to see you." I said as I hugged her. A throat was cleared and I released her and looked at the man. "Um, hello."

"Jack Harkness. And who might you be?"

"Cerys."

"Nice to meet you," he smirked, taking my hand and kissing it. I quickly pulled my hand away, wiping it on Rose.

"Hey!"

"He's your friend."

"Right. Uh, where is he?"

"Who?"

"Your other companion. Rose said there were three of you."

"Oh, right. Er, he should be right behind me," I said as I whipped around and collided with the Doctor's chest. I stepped back and glared at him. "You could have said something, you know."

"Eh. Who's this?"

"Good evening. Hope we're not interrupting. Jack Harkness. I've been hearing all about you on the way over."

"He knows. I had to tell him about us being Time Agents."

"And it's a real pleasure to meet you, Mister Spock." Jack said as he clasped the Doctor's shoulder and walked into the ward, leaving the three of us alone.

"Really, Rose?"

"Mister Spock?"

"Oi, look at you two, finishing each other's questions." The Doctor continued to look at her while I brought my gaze elsewhere. "What was I supposed to say? You don't have a name. Don't you ever get tired of Doctor? Doctor who?"

"Nine centuries in, I'm coping. Where've you been? We're in the middle of a London Blitz. It's not a good time for a stroll."

"Who's strolling? I went by barrage balloon. Only way to see an air raid."

"What?!" The Doctor and I yelled at her.

She rolled her eyes at us, slightly amused. "Look, what's a Chula warship?" I glanced at the Doctor, hoping he'd have an answer.

"Chula?" Instead of an answer, he turned and walked into the ward, leaving us to follow.

When we got in, we found Jack using some device on his wrist to examine the patients. I stood back and watched, deciding to let the Doctor do all the talking. "This just isn't possible. How did this happen?"

"What kind of Chula ship landed here?"

"What?"

"He said it was a warship. He stole it, parked it somewhere out there, somewhere a bomb's going to fall on it unless we make him an offer."

"What kind of warship?"

"Does it matter? It's got nothing to do with this."

"This started at the bomb site. It's got everything to do with it. What kind of warship?" the Doctor asked angrily as he approached the man.

"An ambulance! Look." Jack pressed some more buttons and a hologram of what the Doctor had been chasing popped up. "That's what you chased through the Time Vortex. It's space junk. I wanted to kid you it was valuable. It's empty. I made sure of it. Nothing but a shell. I threw it at you. Saw your time travel vehicle, love the retro look, by the way, nice panels. Threw you the bait-"

"Bait?"

"I wanted to sell it to you and then destroy it before you found out it was junk."

"You said it was a war ship."

"They have ambulances in wars," Jack said, to her, almost as if she were stupid. "It was a con. I was conning you. That's what I am, I'm a con man. I thought you were Time Agents. You're not, are you?"

"Just a couple more freelancers."

"Oh. Should have known. The way you guys are blending in with the local color. I mean, Flag Girl was bad enough, but the Punk and U-Boat Captain? Anyway, whatever's happening, here, has got nothing to do with that ship."

"What is happening here, Doctor?"

"Human DNA is being rewritten by an idiot."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. Some kind of virus converting human beings into these things. But why? What's the point?"

I thought about it all for a moment. This all started with the ambulance and ended up here. There was a child running around looking for him mum with the same cut on his little hand. The more I thought about it, the less sense it made but it also made a ton of sense. I looked up. "What if there is no point? What if it's just a side effect, an accident?"

"To what?"

"I-" I stopped when I saw the patients sit up. My expression must have told them something since the Doctor, Rose and Jack came over to me, the Doctor taking a protective stance before us. I felt his hand snake into mine, offering me comfort.

"Mummy. Mummy. Mummy? Mummy?"

"What's happening?" Rose fearfully asked.

"I don't know," the Doctor admitted as the patients and Constantine stood up.

"Mummy."

"Don't let them touch you."

"What happens if they touch you?"

"That, Rose. You become one of them," I answered for the Doctor.

"Help me, mummy." We backed against the wall, with the patients crowding around us and the Doctor standing in front of Rose, Jack and me, shielding us. "Mummy. Mummy. Mummy. Mummy. Mummy. Mummy."

"Well, this feels familiar," Rose said, bringing up the adventure with the Gelth. I managed to crack a small smile at her remark. Before they got too close, I tugged the Doctor's hand. When he turned around, I placed a quick peck on his cheek, getting my point across in that small move. If we were to become one of those zombies, I wanted him to know I was grateful for all he'd done.

* * *

_Hey all. Super sorry I haven't updated in forever. I went on vacation, which I think I mentioned before, and although I had internet connection, I was usually extremely busy and had little to no time to even get on the computer. But I'm updating now and will be consecutively until next week, one chapter a day until next Sunday when I return to my normal schedule. _

_**Guest**\- Yeah, that's a thing I'm trying to get through, always listen to Cerys when she has her feelings. The Doctor and Cerys' relationship will be revealed as the story goes. I'm dropping little hints in each chapter about it. _

_**Hae**\- I'm so glad you're enjoying the story. Yeah, honestly, she's one of my favourite characters so far. I am definitely keeping all the good stuff to myself until the right time. _

_**Lunabloodmoon66**\- Thanks you so much and I'm so happy you're enjoying Her Secrets. I really felt that someone should have been there when the Doctor was in the elevator with Van Statten and his guards, to at least try and stop them from torturing the poor man. _

_**Grapejuice101**\- I'm happy to oblige. _

_**Lizzybug2000**\- Yeah, I'm trying not too write too much but a good friend of mine who is also a writer is constantly checking to make sure that I am writing. Well, we do that for each other, both of us having bouts of writer's block or just not writing at all. But I'm definitely refreshed from my vacation so there will be a lot more writing when I don't have any coursework to do. _

_**BreeBree12345**\- Really glad you like the story so far. Get ready for a chapter overload, haha. _


	13. The Doctor Dances

_Hey so I'm sure you're all mad at me for not updating last week and I'm so very sorry for that. I was crazy busy on my holiday and all so that's why there hasn't been an update. But I did add a chapter Sunday night, I believe. Hope you enjoy the chapter._

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The patients stood at arms-length. My grip on the Doctor's hand had tightened as I realized the next breath could be our last. If I was hurting him, he showed no sign of it. My thoughts quickly shifted from the Doctor and drifted to my life. Sure, it had pretty much been a mess but there were good parts, mainly Rose, Jackie, and meeting the Doctor. Each good memory I had played in my mind, with me hoping it would at least calm me before I became a gas mask zombie.

As I thought, I felt the Doctor move a bit. I glanced at him and saw that he had crossed his arms behind him, keeping my hand in his all the while. I watched him curiously, waiting for what he would do next. "Go to your room." I looked at him bewildered but remained quiet, watching the patients, who just stood there staring at us. "Go to your room. I mean it. I'm very, very angry with you. I am very, very cross. Go. To. Your. Room." The patients hung their heads, almost as if they were ashamed of themselves, and shuffled away, returning to their beds.

"I'm really glad that worked," he said, throwing me a quick smile. "Those would have been terrible last words."

"Yeah, you think?"

"No need to get snarky."

"Sorry, near death experiences do that to me." I turned to Rose, "How many times does this make?"

"Three times, I think."

I gave the Doctor a quick smirk that he rolled his eyes to. "You knew it was dangerous."

"I never said I didn't enjoy it. Besides, what's the fun in safe?" He smiled and moved from in front of us, releasing my hand.

"Why are they all wearing gas masks?" Rose asked as she sat beside one of the beds. Jack had taken a seat, his feet on the desk I was sitting on and the Doctor stood beside me.

"They aren't actually, Rosie. It's their face, all flesh and bone."

The Doctor turned to Jack. "How was your con supposed to work?"

"Simple enough, really. Find some harmless piece of space junk, let the nearest Time Agent track it back to Earth, convince him it's valuable, name a price. When he's put fifty percent up front, oops! A German bomb falls on it, destroys it forever. He never gets to see what he's paid for, never knows he's been had. I buy him a drink with his own money, and we discuss dumb luck. The _perfect _self-cleaning con."

"Yeah. Perfect."

"The London Blitz is great for self-cleaners. Pompeii's nice if you want to make a vacation of it though, but you've got to set your alarm for volcano day," Jack laughed, before he looked at us. Noticing our stoic expressions, his small smile fading. "Getting a hint of disapproval."

"Take a look around the room. This is what your harmless piece of space-junk did."

"It was a burnt-out medical transporter. It was empty." I rolled my eyes at Jack.

The Doctor turned to us, with his usual detached expression. "Rose."

"Are we getting out of here?"

"We're going upstairs."

"I even programmed the flight computer so it wouldn't land on anything living. I harmed no-one. I don't know what's happening here, but believe me, I had nothing to do with it."

"Right, you didn't think that things wouldn't go according to plan? Nothing ever truly sound, Harkness. That burnt-out, empty medical transporter that you programed not to land on anything living did just that. And I highly doubt it was empty," I snapped before I walked off to finds the stairs.

I leant against the banister, waiting for them to find me. I watched as the Doctor walked past me, grabbing my arm and pulling me with him. As we raced up the stairs, I heard Rose and Jack. I laughed a bit when Jack called him Mr. Spock. "Oh, I have to thank Rose for that. It's quite funny."

"Don't you even think about it."

"Whatever you say, Spock." We stopped as we reached a metal door on the top floor. We stood there, waiting for the others to reach us.

"Have you got a blaster?" the Doctor called out as they ran past us.

The pair stopped and retraced their steps, joining us on the upper landing. "Sure!"

"The night your space-junk landed, someone was hurt. This was where they were taken."

"What happened?"

"Let's find out. Get it open."

"What's wrong with your sonic screwdriver?" Rose whispered to the Doctor.

"Nothing." Jack took out the blaster and disintegrated the lock. "Sonic blaster, fifty first century. Weapon Factories of Villengard?"

"You've been to the factories?"

"Once."

"Well, they gone now, destroyed. The main reactor went critical. Vaporized the lot."

"Like I said. Once." I quickly caught what he was saying. "There's a banana grove there, now. I like bananas. Bananas are good."

"Not even."

"They are."

"I'm getting rid of the bananas."

"Don't you think about it." I smirked and turned my attention to Rose and Jack. They were talking about Jack's gun. I rolled my eyes and walked into the room. My eyes widened as I saw the disarray it was in. The observation window was destroyed as well. A bit of electronic equipment shrouded the room but the one that stood out was the recorder.

"What do you think?"

"Something got out of here."

"Yeah. And?"

"Something powerful and angry."

"Powerful and angry." I looked into the room to see crayon drawings scattered across the walls. My thoughts instantly went to the little boy Nancy and the other kids were frightened of. As I pondered this, Rose and Jack seemed to realize that a child was the cause of all this. Caught up in my mind, I turned on the tape machine, the Doctor standing beside me.

_"Do you know where you are?"_ Doctor Constantine's voice came through.

_"Are you my mummy?"_

_"Are you aware of what's around you? Can you see?"_

_"Are you my mummy?"_

_"What do you want? Do you know-"_

_"I want my mummy. Are you my mummy? I want my mummy! Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy? Mummy? Mummy?"_

"Doctor, I've heard this voice before."

"So have we."

_"Mummy?"_

"Always 'are you my mummy?'. Like he doesn't know."

_"Mummy?"_

"Why doesn't he know?"

_"Are you there, mummy? Mummy? Mummy? Please, mummy? Mummy?"_

"Doctor?"

I shivered and let out a small squeak. A feeling of nausea came over me but there was nothing I could do about it. I shut my eyes, getting my breathing together. When I opened them, the Doctor's eyes pierced mine as he walked around the child's room while I stood by Rose. "Can you sense it?" I looked away, answering his question. It seeped through the walls, the fear, the emptiness.

"Sense what?"

"Coming out of the walls. Can you feel it?"

_"Mummy?"_

"Funny little human brains. How do you get around in those things?"

"When he's stressed, he likes to insult species."

"Rose, I'm thinking."

"He cuts himself shaving, he does half an hour on life forms he's cleverer than."

"There are these children living rough round the bomb sites. They come out during air-raids looking for food."

_"Mummy, please?"_

"What if they were around when you're space-junk landed?" I finished.

"It was a med-ship. It was harmless."

"That's what you keep saying but I don't believe that's true." I turned away from Jack, highly irritated by him at the moment.

"Suppose one of them was affected, altered?"

"Altered how?" Rose asked as the tape ended. My head snapped to the Doctor immediately as I continued to hear the little boy's voice. An almost crippling fear enveloped me.

"I'm here!" I backed away, looking for a way out.

"It's afraid. Terribly afraid and powerful. It doesn't know it yet, but it will do." He chuckled humorlessly. "It's got the power of a god, and I just sent it to its room."

"Doctor…"

"I'm here. Can't you see me?"

"What's that noise?"

"The end of the tape. Ran out thirty seconds ago," I whispered.

"I'm here. Can't you see me?"

"I sent it to its room. This is its room."

We all looked to the broken window and saw the little boy standing there staring at us. "Are you my mummy? Mummy?" I stared at him, paralyzed and a bit saddened.

"Doctor?"

"Okay, on my signal make for the door," Jack said, taking command of the situation.

"Mummy?"

I watched as Jack whipped out his sonic blaster and aimed it at the boy. I almost giggled when I saw it was a banana. "Now!"

"Mummy?"

The Doctor pulled out Jack's gun and aimed it at the wall, giving us a way out. Jack looked from him to the banana in his hand. "Go now! Don't drop the banana!" he exclaimed, pulling me through the opening.

"Why not?"

"Good source of potassium!"

We quickly left the room and exited to the hallway leaving the boy in the room. "Give me that," Jack said as he snatched the device from the Doctor's hand.

"Mummy. I want my mummy."

Jack flipped a switch and used the blaster to fix the wall before the child could come through the hole. "Digital rewind." He tossed the banana to the Doctor. "Nice switch."

"It's from the groves of Villengard. I thought it was appropriate."

"There's really a banana grove in the heart of Villengard and you did that?"

"Bananas are good."

My eyes were trained on the wall during their conversation. As they spoke, I heard a pounding coming from the other side. "We should go," I quickly stated. Not a minute later, the wall started to crack.

"Doctor!"

"Come on!" he said as he started to lead us down the corridor, only to stop when he saw the patients coming from that side. We turned, going the opposite direction but more patients blocked the path, leaving us in front of the wall with Jack pointing his blaster at it.

"Mummy. Mummy. Mummy."

"It's keeping us here till it can get at us."

"It's controlling them?"

"It is them. It's every living thing in this hospital."

"Okay. This can function as a sonic blaster, a sonic cannon, and as a triple-enfolded sonic disrupter. Doc, what you got?"

"I've got a sonic, er," he whipped out the screwdriver before turning from Jack, "Oh, never mind."

"What?"

"It's sonic, okay? Let's leave it at that." Rose and I glanced at each other and rolled our eyes at the Doctor. He was being stupid about the whole thing. No one cared if it was a screwdriver. Even still, I knew it must be one of those guy things, with Jack having the better toy.

"Disrupter? Cannon? What?"

"It's sonic! Totally sonic! I am soniced up!"

"A sonic what?"

"Screwdriver!" he answered exasperatedly as the boy finally broke through the wall. I glanced at Rose and then the blaster. Meeting my eyes, she caught on to my idea and grabbed it, pointing it to the floor.

"Going down!" she yelled as she pressed the button and opened up a hole. When we had recovered from the fall, Jack took the device and closed the hole. "Cerys, Doctor, are you okay?"

I nodded and looked around a bit. "Could've used a warning." I lightly slapped his arm for being rude. She'd just saved our lives no thanks to him.

"Oh, the gratitude."

"Who has a sonic screwdriver?"

"I do."

"Lights."

"Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks, ooo, this could be a little more sonic?"

"What, you've never been bored?"

"There's got to be a light switch."

"Never had a long night? Never had a lot of cabinets to put up?"

As Rose hit the light switch, the patients sat up in their beds. "Mummy. Mummy."

"Door." Jack hit the button on his sonic blaster but it didn't work. "Damn it!"

"Mummy."

"Dammit! It's the special features. They really drain the battery."

"The battery?" Rose questioned as we took off again. The Doctor managed to get us into a storeroom. Once he'd started on the door, I sat on the floor in the corner, once again becoming an observer.

"That's so lame!"

"I was going to send for another one, but somebody's got to blow up the factory."

"Oh, I know. First day we met him, he blew up our job. That's practically how he communicates."

When the Doctor had finished locking the door, he turned to us. "Okay, that door should hold it for a bit."

"The door? The wall didn't stop it!"

"Well, it's got to find us first! Come on, we're not done yet! Assets, assets!"

"Well, I've got a banana, and in a pinch you could put up some shelves."

The Doctor ignored his jab. "Window."

"Barred. Sheer drop outside. Seven stories."

"And no other exits."

"Well, the assets conversation went in a flash, didn't it?"

I rolled my eyes. Jack wasn't being much help at the moment. I knew I wasn't either but I wasn't the one throwing snarky comments towards the Doctor.

"So, where'd you pick this one up, then?"

"Doctor."

"She was hanging from a barrage balloon, I had an invisible spaceship. I never stood a chance."

"Okay. One, we've got to get out of here. Two, we can't get out of here. Have I missed anything?"

My eyes remained on Jack as he punched in things on his wrist device. Looking up at me, he gave a wink and then vanished. "Yeah. Jack just disappeared," Rose told him before she went to sit in a wheelchair. "Okay, so he's vanished into thin air. Why is it always the great looking ones who do that?"

"I'm making an effort not to be insulted." A smile crossed my lips at his words.

"I mean, men."

The laugh I had tried to stifle escaped, causing the Doctor to send me a small glare. "Okay, thanks. That really helped." He came and stood by me, looking out the window. As he did so, the radio that stood on the shelf came to life.

"Rose? Cerys? Doctor?" We walked over to a cupboard, the Doctor opening it to reveal a radio whose wires were broken. "Can you hear me? I'm back on my ship. Used the emergency teleport. Sorry I couldn't take you. It's security-keyed to my molecular structure. I'm working on it. Hang in there."

"How're you speaking to us?"

"Om-Com. I can call anything with a speaker grill."

"Now there's a coincidence."

"What is?"

"The little boy," I started, "he can do that too."

"He can?"

I nodded but left the explaining to the Doctor. "Anything with a speaker grill. Even the Tardis phone."

"What, you mean the child can phone us?"

"And I can hear you. Coming to find you. Coming to find you."

"Doctor, can you hear that?"

"Loud and clear."

"I'll try to block out the signal. Least I can do."

"Coming to find you, mummy."

"Remember this one, Rose?" he asked as music came through the radio. I glanced at her, giving her a quick smirk.

"Our song."

"Your song?"

"Don't start, Cerys."

"Why not? You fancy him."

"We are not going there."

"Course not," I replied, still smirking at her. She rolled her eyes at me before she closed them.

I turned to the Doctor, watching as he was using his screwdriver on the barred windows. "What you doing?" Rose asked him.

"Trying to set up a resonation pattern in the concrete, loosen the bars."

"You don't think he's coming back, do you?"

"Wouldn't bet my life."

"You don't trust him?"

"Why do you?"

"He saved my life. Bloke-wise, that's up there with flossing. I trust him because he's like you. Except with dating and dancing," Rose said, earning a look and a head shake from the Doctor. "What?"

"And there it is," I muttered as the Doctor rounded on her.

"You just assume I'm…"

"What?"

"You just assume that I don't dance."

"What, are you telling me you do dance?" She quickly shot me a glance and stood.

"Nine hundred years old, me. I've been around a bit. I think you can assume at some point I've danced."

"You?"

"Problem?"

"Doesn't the universe implode or something if you dance?"

"Well, I've got the moves but I don't want to boast."

Rose turned up the radio's volume. "Come on, Cerys. He says he's got the moves. Show us your moves."

I shook my head, laughing but she grabbed my arm and pulled me to her side. "I'm, I'm trying to resonate concrete."

"Jack'll be back. He'll get us out. So come on. The world doesn't end because the Doctor dances." She held out her hand to him and he looked at it, a curious expression on his face.

"Barrage balloon?"

"What?"

"You were hanging from a barrage balloon."

"Oh, yeah. About two minutes after you left me. Thousands of feet above London, middle of a German air-raid, Union Jack all over my chest."

"I've travelled with a lot of people, but you're setting new records for jeopardy friendly."

"Is this you dancing? Because I've got notes."

"Hanging from a rope thousands feet above London. Not a cut, not a bruise."

"Yeah, I know. Captain Jack fixed me up."

I raised an eyebrow. "Captain Jack is it?"

"Well, his name's Jack and he's a Captain."

"He's not really a captain, Rose."

"Do you know what I think? I think you're experiencing Captain envy. You'll find your feet at the end of your legs. You may care to move them."

"If he ever was a Captain, he's been defrocked."

"Really? Shame Rose and I missed that." I joked, winking at them. "Oh, and we're not in the storeroom anymore."

"Actually, I quit. Nobody takes my frock. Most people notice when they've been teleported. You guys are so sweet." Jack shot me another wink, having heard what I had said to my friends. "Sorry about the delay. I had to take the nav-com offline to override the teleport security."

"You can spend ten minutes overriding your own protocols? Maybe you should remember whose ship it is."

"Oh, I do. She was gorgeous. Like I told her, be back in five minutes."

"This is a Chula ship."

"Yeah, just like that medical transporter. Only this one is dangerous." The Doctor snapped his fingers and a golden light covered his hands.

"They're what fixed my hands up Jack called them er…"

"Nanobots? Nanogenes?"

"Nanogenes, yeah."

"Sub-atomic robots. There's millions of them in here, see? Burned my hand on the console when we landed. All better now. They activate when the bulk head's sealed. Check you out for damage, fix any physical flaws. Take us to the crash site. I need to see your space junk."

"As soon as I get the nav-com back online. Make yourself comfortable. Carry on with whatever it was you were doing."

"We were talking about dancing."

"It didn't look like talking."

"It didn't feel like dancing," Rose added.

I rolled my eyes at them as the Doctor came and stood by me. I patted his arm and then turned to examine the ship's interior. It was gorgeous although a little cramped for four adults. When I had come full circle, I felt the Doctor's eyes on me. Facing him, I gave him a questioning look before I realized what he wanted to ask. "I'm fine," I whispered sitting on the bed. He took a seat beside me.

"Good. Can't have anything happening to you."

"And Rose," I added. He nodded and looked away. "You know… that really didn't look like dancing to me."

"Not you too."

"Well if you say you can dance, you'd better back it up. Rose grew up dancing."

"And you?"

"I'm not much of a dancer. Two left feet."

"Can't be that bad?"

"Trust me, I am, if you were actually talking about dancing. The way the conversation started, I'd think you were using the word to replace sex." I smirked as a faint pink tinted his cheeks before waving it off. "Anyways, looks like we're mobile," I said as Jack asked us about the crash site.

When we landed, we hid behind a stack of boxes, looking at the obstacles that laid before us. There was a man walking between the tracks. "There it is. Hey, they've got Algy on duty. It must be important."

"We've got to get past him."

"Are the words 'distract the guard' heading in our general direction?"

"I don't think that'd be such a good idea."

"Don't worry we can handle it."

"I've got to know Algy quite well since I've been in town. Trust me, you're not his type. I'll distract him. Don't wait up." Jack ran off to Algy as Rose stared after him.

"Relax, he's a fifty first century guy. He's just a bit more flexible when it comes to dancing."

"How flexible?"

"Well, by his time, you lot have spread out across half the galaxy."

"Meaning?"

"So many species, so little time."

"What, that's what we do when we get out there? That's our mission? We seek new life, and, and…"

"Dance," the Doctor finished for her with a satisfied grin.

I looked between the two of them before turning my attention to Jack and Algy. As I watched, the familiar tingle ran down my spine, alerting me that something was wrong. Without thinking much of it, I broke out into a run. I heard the Doctor and Rose calling my name but I needed to get to Jack. When I reached him, I grabbed the back of his coat, pulling him away from Algy's outstretched arm and ultimately putting myself in his reach. "Don't let him touch you," I gasped in between breaths as Rose and the Doctor caught up. Jack nodded and then ordered his men to stay back, pulling me away from the changed man.

"What were you thinking? He could have infected you," the Doctor chastised.

"But he didn't. I'm fine and dandy. Anyways, if the little boy didn't touch him, what does that mean?"

"The effect's become airborne, accelerating." The air raid sirens started again.

"What's keeping us safe?"

"Nothing."

"Ah, here they come again."

"All we need," Rose muttered. "Didn't you say a bomb was going to land here?"

"Never mind about that. If the contaminants airborne now, there's hours left."

"For what?"

"Till nothing, forever. For the entire human race. And can anyone else hear singing?" I scrunched up my nose and listened carefully. In the distance, I heard someone singing Rock-a-Bye Baby.

The Doctor took off in the direction, leading to a tent. He went in and after a minute or two, exited with Nancy in tow. Relieved to see her safe, I threw my arms around her. "I'm glad you're alright."

"I almost wasn't but I'm fine."

"This is Rose, my sister," I quickly said, before we all headed to the bombsite.

Once there, the lights were turned on and the spacecraft was uncovered. "You see? Just an ambulance."

"That's an ambulance?" Nancy asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, it's from another world."

"They've been trying to get in."

"Of course they have. They think they've got their hands on Hitler's latest secret weapon. What're you doing?"

Jack began to type on the keypad. "The sooner you see this thing is empty, the sooner you'll know I had nothing to do with it." As he said that, there was a loud band, sparks, and an alarm went off, as did a flashing red light. "Didn't happen last time."

"It hadn't crashed last time. There'll be emergency protocols."

"Doctor, what's that?" Rose asked, getting no reply. I grabbed her arm as I saw the red gates move forward as they were banged against. "Doctor!"

"Captain, secure those gates!"

"Why?"

"Just do it! Nancy, how'd you get in here?"

"I cut the wire."

"Show Rose. Setting two thousand four hundred and twenty eight D." The Doctor ordered, tossing Rose the sonic.

"What?"

"Reattaches the barbed wire. Go!"

"And what about me?" I asked.

"You stay put."

"I want to help."

"Just stay put, Cerys. I haven't got the time to argue."

"Even if I could be of some help?"

"You will be. Just stay put. No running off." I grumbled and walked off a bit. "No running off."

"I'm not running off!" I yelled as Jack finally got the ambulance open.

"It's empty. Look at it." Just then Rose and Nancy returned.

"What do you expect in a Chula medical transporter? Bandages? Cough drops? Rose?"

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do," he told her, lifting his hand.

"Nanogenes!"

"It wasn't empty, Captain. There was enough nanogenes in there to rebuild a species."

"Oh God."

"Getting it now, are we? When the ship crashes, the nanogenes escape. Billions upon billions of them, ready to fix all the cuts and bruises in the whole world. But what they find first is a dead child, probably killed earlier that night, and wearing a gasmask."

"And they brought him back to life? They can do that?"

"What's life? Life's easy. A quirk of matter. Nature's way of keeping meat fresh. Nothing to a nanogene. One problem, though. These nanogenes, they're not like the ones on your ship. This lot have never seen a human being before. Don't know what a human being's supposed to look like. All they've got to go on is one little body, and there's not a lot left. But they carry right on. They do what they're programmed to do. They patch it up.

"Can't tell what's gasmask and what's skull, but they do their best. Then off they fly, off they go, work to be done. Because, you see, now they think they know what people should look like, and it's time to fix all the rest. And they won't ever stop. They won't ever, ever stop. The entire human race is going to be torn down and rebuilt in the form of one terrified child looking for its mother, and nothing in the world can stop it!"

"I didn't know." The Doctor ignored him as he worked on the ambulance. All the while, gas mask zombies approached us.

"Mummy. Mummy."

"Cerys!" I ran over to her, seeing them approach.

"It's bringing the gas mask people here, isn't it?" Rose concluded.

"The ship thinks it's under attack. It's calling up the troops. Standard protocol."

"But the gas mask people aren't troops."

"They are now. This is a battle-field ambulance. The nanogenes don't just fix you up, they get you ready for the front line. Equip you, programme you."

"That's why the child's so strong. Why it could do that phoning thing."

"It's a fully equipped Chula warrior, yes. All that weapons tech in the hands of a hysterical four year old looking for his mummy. And now there's an army of them." We were surrounded, all on the outside of the barbed wire.

"Why don't they attack?" Jack asked.

"Good little soldiers, waiting for their commander."

"The child?"

"Jamie."

"What?"

"It's not the child or the boy. His name's Jamie," I snapped. Nancy looked at me, grateful for my input. If I were to be honest, I was getting tired of calling him 'the boy'.

"So, how long until the bomb falls?"

"Any second."

"What's the matter, Captain? A bit close to the volcano for you?"

"He's just a little boy." I placed my arm around Nancy, comforting her the best I could. Although she had said Jamie was her brother, I couldn't believe it. Not with her grief.

"I know."

"He's just a little boy who wants his mummy."

"I know. There isn't a little boy born who wouldn't tear the world apart to save his mummy. And this little boy can."

"What are we going to do?" Rose asked.

"I don't know.

"It's my fault."

"No, it's not, Nancy. You did what you had to do."

"It is. It's all my fault."

"How can it be your…" the Doctor trailed off, finally catching on to what I had already figured out. I kept my arm around her, comforting her as she cried.

"Mummy. Mummy. Mummy. Mummy."

"Nancy, what age are you? Twenty? Twenty one? Older than you look, yes?"

"Doctor, that bomb. We've got seconds."

"You can teleport us out."

"Not you guys. The nav-com's back online. Going to take too long to override the protocols."

"So it's volcano day. Do what you've got to do."

"Jack?" Rose called out but Jack had already teleported back to his ship.

"How old were you five years ago? Fifteen? Sixteen? Old enough to give birth, anyway. He's not your brother, is he? A teenage single mother in 1941. So you hid. You lied. You even lied to him."

The gates opened with Jamie standing at the front. "Are you my mummy?"

"He's going to keep asking, Nancy. He's never going to stop."

"Mummy?"

"You have to tell him, Nancy. The future is in your hands. If you don't trust anyone else," I pled, "trust me. Please tell him." Nancy nodded at me and the two began to walk towards each other.

"Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy?"

"Yes. Yes, I am your mummy."

"Mummy?"

"I'm here."

"Are you my mummy?"

"Yes."

"Are you my mummy?"

"He doesn't understand. There's not enough of him left."

"Shut up and let Nancy work."

"I am your mummy. I will always be your mummy. I'm so sorry. I am so, so sorry," Nancy cried as she knelt down and took Jamie in her arms. As she did so, the nanogenes surrounded them.

"What's happening? Doctor, it's changing her, we should-"

"Shush! Come on, please. Come on, you clever little nanogenes. Figure it out! The mother, she's the mother. It's got to be enough information. Figure it out." I smiled at the Doctor as he told the nanogenes what to do. I was hoping they'd figure it out as well.

"What's happening?"

"Looks like they're recognizing the same DNA." The Doctor nodded at my answer. Nancy and Jamie released each other and Nancy fell to the ground.

"Oh, come on then. Give me a day like this. Give me this one," the Doctor begged as he knelt down and removed Jamie's gas mask. "Ha-ha! Welcome back! Twenty years till pop music- you're going to love it." He lifted the boy, happy it had worked out.

"What happened?" Nancy asked.

"The nanogenes recognised the superior information, the parent DNA. They didn't change you because you changed them! Ha-ha! Mother knows best!"

"Oh, Jamie."

"Doctor, that bomb."

"Taken care of it."

"How?"

"Psychology." As the bomb hurtled to us, Jack caught it in his ship's light beam just before it hit. Jack was sitting on top of it.

"Doctor!"

"Good lad?"

"The bomb's already commenced detonation. I've put it in stasis but it won't last long."

"Change of plan. Don't need the bomb. Can you get rid of it, safely as you can?"

"Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"Goodbye," Jack said as he and the bomb disappeared for a bit, only to return. "By the way, love the t-shirt." He disappeared again and the spaceship flew off. The Doctor then summoned the nanogenes to himself.

"What are you doing?"

"Software patch. Going to email the upgrade. You want moves? I'll give you moves." The Doctor smirked at me and then threw the nanogenes at the patients who then fell. "Everybody lives. Just this once, everybody lives!" The patients began to stand, back to normal but very confused. The Doctor and I ran over to them. "Doctor Constantine. Who never left his patients. Back on your feet, constant doctor. The world doesn't want to get by without you just yet, and I don't blame it one bit. These are your patients. All better now."

"Yes, yes, so it seems. They also seem to be standing around in a disused railway station. Is there any particular reason for that?"

"Yeah, well, you know… cutbacks. Listen, whatever was wrong with them in the past, you're probably going to find that they're cured. Just tell them what a great doctor you are. Don't make a big thing of it. Okay?" We went back over to Rose, Nancy, and Jamie.

"Right, you lot. Lots to do. Beat the Germans, save the world. Don't forget the welfare state! Setting this to self-destruct, soon as everybody's clear. History says there was an explosion here. Who am I to argue with history?"

"Well, you're usually first in line," I smirked.

He shot me a look and led us to the Tardis. Once in, I went to sit on the chair, happy to have my spot back. Rose and I watched him move around the console. "The nanogenes will clean up the mess and switch themselves off, because I just told them to. Nancy and Jamie will go to Doctor Constantine for help, ditto. All in all, all things considered, fantastic!"

"Look at you, beaming away like you're Father Christmas."

"Who says I'm not, red bicycle when you were twelve?"

"What?" I laughed at her reaction, sitting on the jump seat.

"And everybody lives, Cerys and Rose! Everybody lives! I need more days like this."

"Doctor."

"Go on, ask me anything. I'm on fire."

"What about Jack? Why'd he say goodbye?" The Doctor glanced at her and then messed around with the console. Rose went to open the door and the Doctor took my hand and we started dancing, well more like tried to dance. "Well, hurry up then!" she said as Jack ran in. Rose then turned her attention to us. "Okay. And right and turn. Okay, okay, try and spin Cerys again, but this time don't get her arm up her back. No extra points for a half-nelson."

"I'm sure I used to know this stuff. Close the door, will you? Your ship's about to blow up. There's going to be a draught." Jack shut the door and the Doctor released me for a moment to start up the engine. "Welcome to the Tardis." He then took my hands again and we started to dance.

"Much bigger on the inside."

"You'd better be."

"Come on then, Jack. Show me your moves," Rose said to him, holding out her hand.

"Rose! I've just remembered!" the Doctor excitedly said as he moved me around. The music had changed from the waltz to swing, Glenn Miller's In the Mood to be exact.

"What?"

"I can dance! I can dance!"

"Actually, Doctor, I thought Jack might like this dance."

"I'm sure he would, Rose. I'm absolutely certain. That's why I'm dancing with Cerys," he replied as he dipped me. I laughed as he pulled me up, both of us having fun. This was what I missed those four days, the adventure, the fun and my friends.

After a while, all the dancing stopped and Rose had gone off to show Jack where his room would be, leaving the Doctor and me alone. As we sat there in comfortable silence, I finally decided to ask him about the man in my dream, the one with the kind eyes and the girl, more than anything, my focus was on her. I knew the girl I was dreaming about had to be from another world and if anyone knew, it was the Doctor; at least I hoped he knew and although I didn't want to prod, I wanted answers. "Doctor?"

"Yes."

"On your planet, were there people who were judges?"

"What do you mean?"

"Were they allowed to condemn people to death, or er, forced regeneration?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. Curiosity?"

"That's not it. Come on, tell me."

"It's silly but I had a dream that a girl was put through that. She was blamed for something she didn't do and they stabbed her and dragged her away. It was probably just a silly dream but I thought you might know something about that kind of stuff."

"My people, they often used forced regeneration as a punishment for some crimes. Death was reserved for the very worst. If what you saw was true, then I sympathize for the girl."

"Well that's another thing. There was a man there, he had kind brown eyes. He looked like he wanted to help her but couldn't. Maybe it's just what I wanted to see but-"

He looked away from me, looking at the floor. It was something I had grown used to seeing, something he did when he was remembering something sad. "It was probably nothing."

"How can you be so sure? What if there was a girl who went through that, who had to suffer because of her lineage? If that's how your people were, cruel and ruthless, then maybe it's a good thing they are gone. No one deserves that treatment!"

"Maybe she committed a crime."

"If her crime was being the daughter of a man not like them, then they are all idiots," I snapped before storming off. As I did, I heard footsteps behind me. I sighed and whirled around, coming face to face with the Doctor. "Can I help you?"

"You're quite infuriating."

"Thank you."

"They didn't always do what was right but they are my people. They needed a weapon to end the war."

"Wait, they were going to use her as a weapon? That's just sick! They were going to murder a young girl in order to win a war? That's pathetic. If you want to defend them, at least try to come up with a better argument."

"And if there is none?"

"Then don't argue with me," I smirked. "Oh, did you know a woman named, er, Marhai?"

The Doctor stared at me, eyes almost widened in shock. I placed a hand on his leather clad arm in an attempt to release him from his daze.

"How did you hear of her?"

"Dream. It was about her and her husband. Did you know them?"

"Yes. They were friends. Both disappeared before the war."

"Where to?"

"No one knows. They left their daughter behind but she also vanished. No one has seen them in over three hundred years."

"When?"

"A bit after the war started."

"Do you think they're together, the three of them?"

"I hope so. After all they've been through-"

"You mean them being allowed to marry and have a child that could be used during the war?"

"Yes. They deserve peace."

"I think so too," I said with a smile. "Anyways, Doctor, I'm off to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

"Night."

"Get some sleep, will you. I know you could stay up for hours on end but you need to rest just like the rest of us." The Doctor just waved me off and returned to the console room. Sighing, I went to my room and flopped onto my bed, thinking about the conversation I'd just had. The Doctor said they were just friends but his eyes told me they were more than that. I wanted to ask more questions but I refused to pry anymore. I was pulling up memories for him, things he probably didn't want to think about but I couldn't help but wonder what that girl and her family was to him. This day had been long and at some points terrifying but I was happy and that was good, even if I knew it wasn't going to last. Rose had a new friend, the Doctor and I were talking again, and things were kind of back to normal. Breathing out a long breath, I clicked off the lights and burrowed under the covers, letting sleep take me.

* * *

_So, what did you think of the chapter? I was so sad when I didn't see any reviews on the previous ones. I truly love hearing your thoughts and it normally makes my day. It also gives me someone to reply to after the chapter's over so that I'm not just rambling. _

_I was thinking of posting another DW fan fic soon and I wanted to know what I should title it and what the character's name should be. Yes, she will be a full on Time Lady. So anything helps. With that, please review and all. I'll be posting tomorrow if all goes well. _


	14. Boom Town

_Hello! So I am finally updating. It's so sad that this part will be over in just three chapters. Thank you for sticking around. So, I've decided to do the story as two companions in each book, so the rest of Rose will also be in here. I've been editing and reediting so if you find an error, please feel free to tell me. With that said, onto the story._

* * *

Waking up, I felt refreshed for the first time in a while. Jumping up, I went to shower and quickly got dressed. I let my hair fall from its ponytail and rushed out of the room. On my way to the kitchen, I ran into someone wearing khaki pants and a blue t-shirt. Jumping back, I quickly apologized to Jack as he looked at me with an amused expression. "No harm. Where's the fire?"

"Fire? Er, no fire."

"Off to see the Doctor?"

"Nope," I replied, grimacing at his accusation. "I'm hungry and off to the kitchen. Care to join? We could tell Rose you cooked."

"Yeah, that would work if Rose wasn't behind you," Rose remarked. I whirled around, throwing my arms around her shoulders, he eyes widening in shock. "What's gotten into you this morning? Or should I say who?"

"Stop it, Rosie." I lightly slapped her arm. "I just had a really good night's sleep. Can't I wake up happy, or is that not allowed?"

"We did leave you alone with the Doctor…"

"And you two are awful chummy," Jack added.

"Shut up. I did not sleep with him." My cheeks had heated up a bit. "I didn't have any nightmares last night, that's all."

"Nightmares?"

"Guess you didn't tell your boyfriend, Rose."

"Shut up." She smiled at me before turning her attention to Jack. "Cerys' had nightmares for as long as I've known her. They interrupt her sleep. On good nights she tends to get two hours maybe four max."

"Yep. But enough about me. How's breakfast sound? I'm cooking."

"Sounds great. Are you going to make the pancakes, the ones with the oranges? Oh, and what about eggs and bacon? I'll take mine crispy, thank you."

"Oh, really, Rosie? And who do you think you are, Queen of England?"

"I could be. Besides, you said you were cooking, right?"

"Well… seeing as we're together, I figured we'd all cook. It's been a while since we have in general, Rose. Oh, the times we had woken up before Jackie and made her a good meal."

"That was ages ago."

"Yeah, well, let's get to it then. Practice for the next time we see her?"

"Alright. You make the muffins and the pancakes. I've got eggs and the bacon. Jack can do the fruit and toast."

"Why do I have to make the toast? Anyone could make toast. I've got the sausage."

"Fine, you can do the three of them then."

"Sounds good."

"Jack, not everyone can make toast," I added, glancing at Rose.

"That was once!" I laughed and continued to the kitchen with Jack and Rose following closely behind.

After forty-five minutes filled with laughs, messes, and multiple jabs at each other's cooking, breakfast was finished. I'd even made my chocolate cheesecake cupcakes. While Jack and Rose had started to pile their plates, I left the room, going to find the Doctor. He was under the Tardis console, doing something to it. I watched him for a bit before making myself known.

"What can I do for you?"

"We were having breakfast."

"That's nice."

"Well, we're missing someone."

"I'm not getting Jackie."

I laughed a bit before sobering up. "I meant you, dummy. You've got to eat some time."

"Not hungry."

"Don't care. The Tardis can wait a bit. I'm sure she'll be much happier after you've gotten some food."

"I'm not hungry."

"Fine. Then just grace us with your presence."

He glanced up from his work and rolled his eyes at me before getting up. "You're insufferable."

"Thanks. You're no better," I replied with a smirk.

"What's got you in such a good mood?"

"I didn't have any nightmares."

"That's good."

"Yeah. Now, enough chit chat. Food's getting cold."

He nodded as I grabbed his arm and pulled him along. "I know my way to the kitchen."

"I'm sure. This is more so you don't disappear. Can't have you doing that with friends around." He stopped walking and stared at me. My smile vanished when I saw his distant expression. "What is it? What did I say this time?"

"Nothing. You just reminded me of someone."

"Oh, sorry."

"It's fine. Anyways, breakfast," he hurriedly said as he pulled me along.

"You don't have to come."

"Nonsense. Can't have all that food go to…" he stopped when we got to the door and saw that Rose and Jack had gotten through most of the food. "Waste."

I groaned as they shot us quick apologetic smiles. "You know, this was enough to feed six."

"Was it?"

"Yes. Rose really enjoys my cooking."

"He ate most of it."

"It's delicious."

I rolled my eyes and dragged the Doctor to the table. Sitting down, I grabbed a few pancakes for myself, dumping one of everything on the Doctor's plate. I gave no notice to Jack and Rose's looks. When I was finally finished, I looked down at my plate and began to eat. From the corner of my eye, I watched as the Doctor picked up his fork and began to eat. A content smile graced my lips as he continued to eat past two bites. Once finished, the Doctor silently stood and walked off. I glanced down, knowing his demeanor was due to me reminding him of someone. Looking up, the two were looking at me questioningly. I shook my head before collecting all the dishware and starting to wash them, with Rose and Jack helping to dry and put them away.

When the kitchen was cleaned, we all went our separate ways, with me returning to the library. I walked around, looking for a new book to read. Things were quiet, with Rose and Jack doing something and the Doctor most likely in the console room. When there was nothing at eye-level, I climbed up the ladder and looked for something higher up. I smiled as I found what seemed like an interesting book, and it proved to be when I had finally settled down in my favorite spot before the fire. As I made my way through the novel, I abruptly felt sick. If it was anything like what had happened at the fish and chips shop, then I was in for trouble. I dropped the book and tried to stand up but my knees gave out on me. Curling into the fetal position, I closed my eyes and took in deep breaths even though it was hard to breathe. My heart was pounding as if it would give out any minute. As I felt a throbbing sensation in my head, I involuntarily whimpered. I kept hoping the Tardis wouldn't alert the others of my current situation as I felt myself slipping away.

_Although everyone's eyes were on me, I was watching him. Our eyes connected and he smirked as I blushed. 'You look beautiful.'_

_'__Why did you want to do this? We're already one.'_

_'__I wanted them to see, to know that you were mine.'_

_'__They've known for a while. It's not a secret you're with a half-breed.'_

_'__Not today. You're supposed to be happy.'_

_'__I was before I came here. I prefer it be just us.'_

_'__Shall we then?'_

_'__We shall.' I waited until he had walked from the small stage and had taken my hand. Then we ran._

_Darkness that was once welcomed became an enemy. There was nothing friendly about this. They had ripped me away from him, from my beloved. I couldn't feel or hear him. My captors had either cut us off or killed him. I hoped it was the first. I had taken to huddling into a corner whenever the door opened. They were trying to break me, to make me into a warrior, a murderer. Instead of the "friendly" men that normally greeted me, it was Rassilon. His mouth was set in his characteristic frown but his eyes were lit with an almost childlike glee. I inched further into the corner as if it could protect me. He came to a stop, reaching down and grabbing me by the throat. Without a word, he dragged me out of the room and into another. The moment the door closed behind me, the room's temperature dropped significantly. I instinctively wrapped my arms around myself and began to walk around the dimly lit cell. Finding another corner, I huddled myself into it, feeling incomplete and almost numb. Closing my eyes, I slowed my heartbeats and let darkness take me._

When I came to, I was in my bed with Rose sleeping beside me. I looked around as I sat up, ignoring the dull pounding in my head. On the floor sat Jack and standing in the corner with his arms crossed was the Doctor. Our eyes met briefly before I looked away from the intensity of his gaze. Shaking my head, I turned my attention to my best friend. I shook her awake, narrowly avoiding getting slapped in the process. "Cerys?"

"Yeah."

She threw her arms around me before she abruptly let me go and slapped my arm rather hard. "I was so worried for you. What the hell were you thinking?"

"Er, what are you talking about?" As soon as the question left my mouth, she pulled out the pill bottles from under my pillow. My eyes widened as I realized what she had thought. "No, Rose that was not what happened."

She ignored me. "I knew something was up when you were making breakfast. The last time you were this cheerful I found you on the bathroom floor. Why would you do it again? You promised mum and me. Is that why you locked yourself in here? Were you planning that entire time? Do you know how upset mum would have been? I thought you were happy, finally enjoying yourself. Are you really that desperate?" By that time Jack had woken up and was watching us intently. I was glad he had missed the bathroom part of it. I didn't need another person to know or imply what had happened, although I was sure the Doctor had probably figured it out. "After all this time, you would break your promise to me?" I held her gaze, watching was the tears rolled down her cheeks. I felt bad, even if that wasn't what had happened. I knew that when I did, she would be devastated.

"Rose, I didn't do what you're thinking."

"Then why were you passed out in the library? Why did you have the blue bottle?"

"I was really in a good mood, Rosie. But the library, it was like that time we were in the fish and chip shop."

"And breakfast?"

"I was trying to apologize to you and the Doctor for locking myself away those four days and not talking to you guys. I'm sorry I caused so much worry. It wasn't something I wanted to happen." I glanced at the Doctor and then at Rose. "Er, you didn't say anything about…" I asked, taking the bottles and returning them to their spot under the pillow.

"No. The Tardis told the Doctor something was wrong. He brought you here and then got me and Jack. I'm sure he has a few questions though."

"Right," I murmured as I went to stand. I wobbled a bit after a second or two, but got my bearings. Keeping my eyes straight and expression blank, I walked to the bathroom and shut the door. Leaning against, it, I slid down to the floor and sat there for a while until I heard Jack say something about the party being over.

After they had all shuffled out, I reopened the bathroom door and flopped onto my empty bed, sifting through everything I'd seen after passing out. I felt sorry for the girl, to have such happiness and to have it ripped away by the man who wanted to use her as a weapon. It seemed as if he was trying to break her will. I sighed. It was tragic really, especially if she was murdered. Opening my eyes, I saw a leather clad torso leaning against the door. "What can I do you for?"

"What was it about?"

"My dream? Um, nothing really."

"Are you sure?"

"What, does it matter?"

"It doesn't."

"Good. Er, where are we?"

"Cardiff. Meet us in the console room when you're ready," he answered as he turned to leave.

"Doctor, could we not do this again?"

"Do what?"

"The whole ignoring each other thing, or rather you ignoring me and I just take it and seethe for the entire trip until Rose throws us together. It's getting quite old and to be honest, I don't really like it much." He gazed at me for a moment, his passive expression softening a bit before nodding and exiting the room.

After a quick shower and change, I went out to the console room. I was shocked when I saw Mickey barging in. I went and sat in the captain's chair, watching everything with an amused expression. "Don't tell me. This must be Mickey." I nodded at Jack's assessment.

The Doctor stood on a ladder, working on a bit of wiring wearing something around his head with a flashing red light. "Here comes trouble! How're you doing, Ricky boy?"

"It's Mickey!"

"Don't listen to him, he's winding you up," Rose told him.

Mickey's eyes met hers and then he took in here appearance. "You look fantastic." The two hugged and when they parted, he glanced over to me. "Can't be said for you, Cerys."

"Oh, I beg to differ," the Doctor inserted as he worked, causing my cheeks to heat up a bit.

"Aw, how sweet. How come I never get any of that?"

"Take me to an amusement park and maybe, Jack."

"Buy me a drink first," was the Doctor's answer.

Jack turned from me and looked at the Doctor, giving him a small pout. "You're such hard work, the both of you."

"But we're definitely worth it," I stated with a wink.

"Did you manage to find it?" I heard Rose ask Mickey.

Mickey placed something in her hand. "There you go."

"I can go anywhere now."

"I told you, you don't need a passport."

"It's all very well going to Platform One and Justicia and the Glass Pyramid of San Kaloon, but what if we end up in Brazil? I might need it. You see, I'm prepared for anything."

"Sounds like you're staying, then." We were all quiet, knowing she was intent on staying. His face fell but he quickly donned a smile. "So, what're you doing in Cardiff? And who the hell's Jumping Jack Flash? I mean, I don't mind you hanging out with big-ears up there-"

"Oi!"

"Look in the mirror," he said to the Doctor before he turned to Jack. "But this guy, I don't know, he's kind of-"

"Handsome?"

"More like cheesy."

"Early twenty first Century slang. Is cheesy good or bad?"

"It's bad."

"But bad means good, isn't that right?" I shook my head at his question.

"Are you saying I'm not handsome?" the Doctor asked.

"I wouldn't say that…" I mused, trailing off when I noticed them looking at me, Rose and Jack with smirks on their faces.

"We just stopped off," Rose started to explain, moving the attention from the previous conversation. "We need to refuel. The thing is, Cardiff's got this rift running through the middle of the city. It's invisible, but it's like an earthquake fault between different dimensions."

"The rift was healed back in 1869."

"There was a girl named Gwyneth," I said with a small smile, "healed it."

"Because these creatures called the Gelth, they were using the rift as a gateway but she saved the world and closed it."

"But closing a rift always leaves a scar, and that scar generates energy, harmless to the human race-"

"But perfect for the Tardis, so just park it here for a couple of days right on top of the scar and-"

"Open up the engines, soak up the radiation."

"Like filling her up with petrol and off we go!"

"Into time!

"And space!" the four of us said together, slapping hands as Mickey stared at us.

"My God, have you seen yourselves? You all think you're so clever, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

"Definitely."

"Yep!"

Mickey rolled his eyes at us before we all headed out of the Tardis, me flanking behind everyone. Looking around, I realized we were at Roald Dahl Plass. My smile brightened as I searched for the shop Rose and I had gone to a while back, long before we met the Doctor. "Do you think that shop's still there?" I asked her.

"Don't know. We can go see. You loved that place, all leather and jeans."

"It was wonderful."

"Should take another twenty four hours, which means we've got time to kill."

"Great. Rose and I could go look for the shop."

"That old lady's staring," Mickey said.

"Probably wondering what five people could do inside a small wooden box." Jack slapped the Doctor's shoulders, the three of us laughing. We had gotten used to Jack's sense of humour, no matter how crass it was.

"What are you captain of, the Innuendo Squad?" Jack held up his hands making a W for whatever before walking away. "Wait, the Tardis, we can't just leave it. Doesn't it get noticed?"

Jack turned to face us, walking back. "Yeah, what's with the police box? Why does it look like that?"

"It's a cloaking device."

"It's called a chameleon circuit. The Tardis is meant to disguise itself wherever it lands, like if this was Ancient Rome, it'd be a statue on a plinth or something. But I landed in the 1960s, it disguised itself as a police box, and the circuit got stuck."

"So it copied the real thing? There actually was police boxes?"

"Yeah, on street corners. Phone for help before they had radios and mobiles. If they arrested someone, they could shove them inside till help came, like a little prison cell."

"Why don't you just fix the circuit?"

"I like it, don't you?"

"I love it.

"Why fix something so beautiful?" I asked with a shrug. "Most people probably think it's an old box the city forgot about. That's the beauty of it. No one really gives it two thoughts."

"But that's what I meant. There's no police boxes anymore, so doesn't it get noticed?"

"Ricky, let me tell you something about the human race. You put a mysterious blue box slap bang in the middle of town, what do they do?" He placed his hands on Mickey's shoulders. "Walk past it. Even, Cerys said it. Now, stop your nagging. Let's go and explore."

"What's the plan?"

"I don't know. Cardiff, early twenty first century and the wind's coming from the east. Trust me. Safest place in the universe."

As we walked through the plaza, I grabbed the Doctor's hand and gave it a squeeze. He slowed but didn't stop walking. "Thank you for acknowledging I said something."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know. I'm used to being ignored I guess. Rose doesn't much but there are times where it's like she doesn't even notice that I'm there. And Mickey, he and I never had a good relationship."

"Still shouldn't ignore you. You're smart, Cerys. You use your brain better than most humans. Speak up, eh." I nodded and moved to let go of his hand. As I was going to pull away, his grip on my hand tightened and he smiled at me. I sighed let it be, falling into step with him.

The five of us ended up at a restaurant after a few minutes of walking. We were chatting a bit although we mostly listened to Jack's stories. As usual, I remained quiet for most of the conversation. It was something I was used to, being in the background and observing; taking in everything I saw and heard. "I swear, six feet tall and with big tusks-"

"You're lying through your teeth!"

"I'd have gone bonkers! That's the word - bonkers!"

"I mean, it turns out the white things are tusks and I mean tusks! And it's woken, and it's not happy."

"How could you not know it was there?"

"And we're standing there, fifteen of us, naked-"

"Naked?!"

"And I'm like, oh, no, no, it's got nothing to do with me. And then it roars, and we are running. Oh my God, we are running! And Brakovitch falls, so I turn to him and I say-"

"I knew we should have turned left!"

"That's my line!"

The five of us burst into laughter, although we were pretty much in stitches as Jack told his story. "I don't believe you. I don't believe a word you say ever. That is so brilliant. Did you ever get your clothes back?" Rose asked, as the Doctor looked over to a nearby patron and snatched a newspaper from his hand.

"No, I just picked him up went right for the ship, full throttle. Didn't stop until I hit the spacelanes. I was shaking. It was unbelievable. It freaked me out, and by the time I got fifteen light years away I realized I'm like this."

I turned my attention to the Doctor and glanced at the newspaper, my breath hitching when I sat it was one of the Slitheen. "And I was having such a nice day." The Doctor held up the paper, showing the others the front page. Glancing at each other, we stood, threw down some money and exited the restaurant.

A few minutes later we were standing in the city hall foyer. "According to intelligence, the target is the last surviving member of the Slitheen family, a criminal sect from the planet Raxacoricofallapatorious, masquerading as a human being, zipped inside a skin suit. Okay, plan of attack." I smirked as the Doctor looked over to him. "We assume a basic fifty seven fifty six strategy, covering all available exits on the ground floor. Doctor, you go face to face. That'll designate Exit One, I'll cover Exit Two with Cerys."

"No. Cerys comes with me."

Jack rolled his eyes but there was a glimmer in them. "I wanted to spend some time with her. You can't keep her to yourself, Doctor."

"That's nice," he said, not easing up.

Jack rolled his eyes, admitting defeat. "Fine, _you're_ with the Doctor, Cerys. Rose, you Exit Three. Mickey Smith, you take Exit Four. Have you got that?"

I nodded as the Doctor glared at Jack, a bit upset he had taken over and was giving orders, something I noticed the he preferred to do. "Excuse me. Who's in charge?" I rolled my eyes at him but said nothing.

"Sorry. Awaiting orders, sir."

"Right, here's the plan." The Doctor stopped speaking, thinking up a plan. "Like he said. Nice plan. Anything else?"

"Present arms." We all pulled out a mobile, synchronizing it.

"Ready."

"Ready."

"Ready," Mickey repeated after the Doctor and Rose.

"Ready. Speed dial?"

"Yup."

"Ready."

"Check."

Jack looked at me, waiting for me to say something. I gave a curt nod that he returned before he smiled. "See you in hell." With that we all went our separate ways.

As the Doctor and I walked down the hall, I thought of what had just happened. He hadn't acted like that with Rose, demanding she accompany him. Maybe he thought I couldn't handle myself or that I was weak. But that wouldn't make sense. I would have been with Jack, a man perfectly capable of keeping us both safe. Maybe he just felt better with me around. Rose had said I was the only one who could keep him from doing something reckless, so maybe that was it. I shook my head, trying to rid it of all the thoughts. It was nagging me, the want to know his reason but I tried not to let it bother me, yet it was harder than I thought. "Why did you want me to come with you?"

"Just did."

"That's not a reason. If you thought I was weak then I could have went with Jack but you insisted-"

"Who said I thought you were weak?"

"I don't know. It seems like it. You didn't tell Jack that Rose had to go with you. If safety was an issue, I would have been safe with Jack."

"I didn't ask you to come with me for your safety. I know you can take care of yourself."

"Then why did you?"

"I enjoy your company. Now, shush. We're meeting with the receptionist." I rolled my eyes at him as he went to talk to the man sitting behind a desk by the door. "Hello, I've come to see the Lord Mayor."

"Have you got an appointment?"

"No, just an old friend passing by. Bit of a surprise. Can't wait to see her face."

"Well, she's just having a cup of tea."

"Just go in there and tell her the Doctor would like to see her."

"Doctor who?"

"Just the Doctor. Tell her exactly that. The Doctor." I rolled my eyes at him as he donned his silly grin.

"Hang on a tick," the man said, annoyed as he walked into the mayor's office. A moment later we heard a cup smash onto the floor and the receptionist come out, flustered. "The Lord Mayor says thank you for popping by. She'd love to have a chat, but, er, she's up to her eyes in paperwork. Perhaps if you could make an appointment for next week?"

"She's climbing out of the window, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is." The Doctor pushed past him as I rang everyone.

"Slitheen heading north."

"On my way."

"Over and out."

"Oh my God."

Hanging up, I ran into the office joining the Doctor and the receptionist on the balcony. The men were wrestling with each other, the receptionist trying to deter the Doctor. "Leave the Mayor alone!" he said before I grabbed the back of his suit jacket and pulled him away from the Doctor. When he was on the ground, the Doctor and I ran down the ladder.

"Margaret!" The Doctor called as she removed her earrings and put it with her broach.

"Who's on Exit Four?" Jack asked.

"That was Mickey!"

"Here I am," the man said as he ran to us.

"Mickey the idiot."

"Oh, be fair, she's not going to outrun us, is she?" Rose questioned as Margaret vanished before our eyes.

"Thanks for that, Rose." She glanced at me, rolling her eyes at my comment.

"She's got a teleport! That's cheating! Now we're never going to get her."

"Oh, the Doctor's very good at teleports," Rose told Jack as the Doctor held up his screwdriver and Margaret reappeared, running towards us. Seeing what was happening, she turned and ran away from us. For a bit she would vanish and reappear, only to vanish again and repeat the cycle.

"I could do this all day."

Stopping, she rested her hands against her knees, breathing heavily. "This is persecution. Why can't you leave me alone? What did I ever do to you?"

"Well, you tried to destroy the planet, and not to mention kill us," I snapped.

"Apart from that." I rolled my eyes as the Doctor managed to lead her back into city hall.

When we finally reached an open room, I leaned against a table with yellow cloth draped over it. My eyes on a white model building that she was supposed to have built. "So, you're a Slitheen, you're on Earth, you're trapped. Your family get killed but you teleport out just in the nick of time. You have no means of escape. What do you do? You build a nuclear power station. But what for?"

"A philanthropic gesture. I've learnt the error of my ways."

I snorted, bringing her attention to me. "Right, on top of the rift? Fat chance. You're planning something."

"What would you know, human?"

"Human, yes. I can call your lies from a mile away and if you aren't fooling me, then you are most definitely not fooling the Doctor, or Jack for that matter. So, why on the rift?"

"What rift would that be?"

"A rift in space and time. If this power station went into meltdown, the entire planet would go…" he used his hands to show the explosion.

"She knows which one, Jack. Like I said, she's planning something."

"This station is designed to explode the minute it reaches capacity."

"Didn't anyone notice? Isn't there someone in London checking this sort of stuff?"

"We're in Cardiff. London doesn't care. The South Wales coast could fall into the sea and they wouldn't notice. Oh. I sound like a Welshman. God help me, I've gone native."

"But why would she do that? A great big explosion, she'd only end up killing herself."

"She's got a name, you know," Margaret sneered.

"She's not even a she, she's a thing," Mickey retorted.

"Oh, but she's clever." I eyed the Doctor as he knocked over some bits and pulled out the middle section of the model and turned it over to show us that it was hooked up to something. "Fantastic."

"Is that a tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator?"

"Couldn't have put it better myself."

Jack snatched it from him. "Oo, genius! You didn't build this?"

"I have my hobbies. A little tinkering."

"No, no, no. I mean, you really didn't build this. Way beyond you."

"I bet she stole it."

"It fell into my hands."

"Is it a weapon?" Rose asked.

No," I replied, shaking my head and getting up from the chair. I walked over to the Doctor and Jack, examining the device. "I'm pretty sure it's used for transport." I took it from the Doctor's hand. "Once the reactor explodes, the rift would open up again, eradicating all that Gwyneth did. It would be a cosmic disaster. I'm guessing it has an energy bubble that protects you from the debris and whatnot. Punch in some coordinates and ride it out of the solar system." I looked up to see everyone staring at me. "What?"

"How did you know that?" Jack asked.

"Er, I read. I know a lot of stuff."

"But that's not something a human would know."

"You know about it."

"I'm from the 51st century and I was a Time Agent."

"I spend a lot of time in the Doctor's library. I remember most of the stuff I read."

"Right," Mickey interjected, not feeling comfortable with my knowledge of space things. "So it's basically a surfboard."

"A pan-dimensional surfboard, yeah."

"And it would've worked. I'd have surfed away from this dead end dump and back to civilization."

"You'd blow up a planet just to get a lift?"

"She almost did for fuel."

"Like stepping on an anthill."

"How'd you think of the name?" the Doctor asked, his back to us as he looked at the banner that hung on the wall behind the project.

"What, Blaidd Drwg? It's Welsh."

"I know, but how did you think of it?"

"I chose it at random, that's all. I don't know. It just sounded good. Does it matter?"

"Blaidd Drwg."

"What's it mean?"

"Bad Wolf."

"But I've heard that before. Bad Wolf. I've heard that lots of times."

"Everywhere we go. Two words following us. Bad Wolf."

"How can they be following us?"

"Nah, just a coincidence. Like hearing a word on the radio then hearing it all day. Never mind. Things to do. Margaret, we're going to take you home."

"Hold on, isn't that the easy option, like letting her go?"

"I don't believe it! We actually get to go to Raxa…" I giggled as the Doctor rolled his eyes at her. "Wait a minute! Raxacor…"

"Raxacoricofallapatorius," the Doctor and I said together.

"Raxacorico…"

"Fallapatorius."

"Raxacoricofallapatorius. That's it! I did it!" I gave her a high five, happy with her as well. She had been bugging me to teach her how to say it but each time ended miserably.

"They have the death penalty." Rose's smile faded. "The family Slitheen was tried in its absence many years ago and found guilty with no chance of appeal. According to the statutes of government, the moment I return, I am to be executed. What do you make of that, Doctor? Take me home and you take me to my death."

"Not my problem."

* * *

_So, what did you think of this part? I wanted to show the relationship she has with Rose, Jack and the Doctor, showing how their relationship has changed to the flirting part, although I think I've had it there subtlely, I wanted to have it where now, it's more out there. I also wanted to shed some light on Cerys' past. I also wanted to show that she has abnormal knowledge for a human in the 21st Century. Please leave a review. I love hearing your opinions and such. _

_**BreeBree12345:** Thank's for the review. I'm so glad you're enjoying the story so much. I'll definitely be updating more frequently now that I've updated most of the story and have it in my doc manager._

_**Lizzybug2000:** Glad you liked the chapter. Thanks for the name suggestions. She's definitely going to have a pretty simple name. After a bit of thinking, I decided to name her Joce, best friend of Captain Jack Harkness. Hopefully I'll have it posted soon. _


	15. When Plan B Doesn't Work

Shortly after, the six of us had left city hall and returned to the Tardis. I stood by the Doctor as he worked the console, eyeing Margaret warily. Dragging her back to the Tardis had been too easy and it was aggravating that everyone else just took it in stride and didn't give it a second thought. She walked around the space, taking in everything. "This ship is impossible. It's superb. How do you get the outside around the inside?"

"Like I'd give you the secret, yeah."

"I almost feel better about being defeated. I never stood a chance. This is the technology of the gods."

"Don't worship me - I'd make a very bad god. You wouldn't get a day off, for starters. Jack, how we doing, big fella?"

"This extrapolator's top of the range. Where did you get it?"

"Oh, I don't know. Some airlock sale?"

"Must've been a great big heist. It's stacked with power."

"But we can use it for fuel?"

"It's not compatible, but it should knock off about twelve hours. We'll be ready to go by morning."

"Then we're stuck here overnight."

"I'm in no hurry."

"We've got a prisoner. The police box is really a police box," Rose said excitedly.

"You're not just police, though. Since you're taking me to my death that makes you my executioners. Each and every one of you."

"Well, you deserve it."

"You're very quick to say so. You're very quick to soak your hands in my blood, which makes you better than me, how, exactly? Long night ahead." She moved from where she was standing to sit in the chair. "Let's see who can look me in the eye." I watched as everyone averted their eyes, even Mickey who had tried to keep her gaze. When she met mine, I returned her stare, not looking away until she had. I watched as she paled, slightly inching away from me. I didn't want her dead; at least that's what I told myself. Deep down though, I felt as if she deserved it. She had almost killed the people I cared about and they were worth killing for. I sighed and shook my head, leaning back in the chair and allowing my mind to wander to my dream. The girl in my dream and her husband, they were perfect for each other, a love made by the gods. I had always thought I was better off alone but I wanted that kind of love, yearned for it. I wanted to feel needed. I wanted to feel complete. I groaned, not catching the looks that were shot my way. I closed my eyes and continue to think, not caring who was watching me or who was around. It was just my thoughts and me.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Jack staring at me, Margaret leaning against the railing and the Doctor looking at the screen. I fiddled with my bracelet as I glanced at the screen. We were watching Mickey and Rose walk away from the Tardis, hand in hand. I sighed and turned around to face Jack. "So, what's on?"

"Nothing, just."

"I gather it's not always like this, having to wait. I bet you're always the first to leave, Doctor. Never mind the consequences, off you go. You butchered my family and then ran for the stars, am I right? But not this time. At last you have consequences. How does it feel?"

"I didn't butcher them."

"Don't answer back. That's what she wants."

"I didn't. What about you? You had an emergency teleport. You didn't zap them to safety, did you?"

"It only carries one. I had to fly without coordinates. I ended up on a skip in the Isle of Dogs. It wasn't funny."

"Sorry. It is a bit funny." The Doctor and Jack laughed, Margaret joining in a bit.

"Do I get a last request?"

"Depends on what it is."

"I grew quite fond of my little human life. All those rituals. The brushing of the teeth, and the complicated way they cook things. There's a little restaurant just round the Bay. It became quite a favorite of mine."

"Is that what you want, a last meal?"

"Don't I have rights?"

"Oh, like she's not going to try to escape."

"Except I can never escape the Doctor, so where's the danger? I wonder if you could do it? To sit with a creature you're about to kill and take supper. How strong is your stomach?"

"Strong enough."

"I wonder. I've seen you fight your enemies, now dine with them."

"You won't change my mind."

"Prove it."

"There are people out there. If you slip away just for one second, they'll be in danger."

"Except, I've got these," Jack said as he held up two bangles.

"You both wear one. If she moves more than ten feet away, she gets zapped by ten thousand volts." The Doctor took one and Jack put the other on Margaret.

"Margaret, would you like to come out to dinner? My treat."

"Dinner in bondage. Works for me."

"Coming Cerys?"

"Sure," I answered as I grabbed his hand. The two of us walking out, leaving Margaret to follow.

Reaching the restaurant, Bistro 10, we took a table by the window. I sat beside the Doctor while Margaret sat across from us. The place was nice, modern with Chinese lanterns hanging from the ceiling and portraits lining the walls. We sat there, looking at the menu. "Here we are, out on a date, and you haven't even asked my proper name."

"It's not a date. Not with you at least."

I blushed as he said that before turning to the woman. "So, tell us. What's your name?"

"Blon. I am Blon Fel Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen. That's what it'll say on my death certificate."

"Nice to meet you, Blon."

"I'm sure. Look, that's where I was living as Margaret. Nice little flat, over there, on the top. Next to the one with the light on." The Doctor looked over to where she pointed but I watched her pour some form of powder in his glass. "Two bedrooms, bayside view. I was rather content. Don't suppose I'll see it again." Frowning, I switched hers and his, giving her a smug smile as she glared at me.

"Suppose not."

"Thank you."

"Sure."

"Tell me then, Doctor. What do you know of our species?"

The Doctor continued to look at his menu. "Only what I've seen."

"Did you know, for example, in extreme cases, when her life is in danger, a female Raxacoricofallapatorian can manufacture a poison dart within her own finger," she said as she pointed her finger at me, shooting a dart. I quickly threw up a menu, it catching the dart just in time.

"Yes, I did and I don't appreciate you shooting them at Cerys."

"Just checking. And one more thing. between you and me." I watched as they leaned in, Margaret whispering. "As a final resort, the excess poison can be exhaled through the lungs." She exhaled, a green gas leaving her mouth. As she did so, the Doctor sprayed breath freshener in her mouth. Margaret made a face, sticking out her tongue, and sat back in her chair.

"That's better. Now then, what do you think, Cerys? Mmm, steak looks nice. Steak and chips."

"If that's what you want. I think I'll get a salad. Not very hungry right now."

"Public execution's a slow death. They prepare a thin acetic acid, lower me into the cauldron and boil me. The acidity is perfectly gauged to strip away the skin. Internal organs fall out into the liquid, and I become soup. And still alive, still screaming."

"I don't make the law."

"But you deliver it. Will you watch?"

"What else can we do?"

"The Slitheen family's huge. There's a lot more of us, all scattered off-world. Take me to them. Take me somewhere safe."

"But then you'll just start again."

"I promise I won't."

"You've been in that skin suit too long. You've forgotten. There used to be a real Margaret Blaine. You killed her and stripped her and used the skin. You're pleading for mercy out of a dead woman's lips."

"Perhaps I have got used to it. A human life, an ordinary life. That's all I'm asking. Give me a chance, Doctor. I can change."

"Sure you can. Or maybe you can?"

The Doctor glanced at me before returning his gaze to Blon. "I don't believe you."

"I promise you I've changed since we last met, Doctor. There was this girl, just today. A young thing, something of a danger. She was getting too close. I felt the blood lust rising, just as the family taught me, I was going to kill her without a thought. And then I stopped. She's alive somewhere right now. She's walking around this city because I can change. I did change. I know I can't prove it-"

"I believe you."

"Then you know I'm capable of better."

"But that doesn't mean a thing, Blon."

"I spared her life."

"You let one of them go, but that's nothing new. Every now and then, a little victim's spared because she smiled, because he's got freckles, because they begged. And that's how you live with yourself. That's how you slaughter millions. Because once in a while, on a whim, if the wind's in the right direction, you happen to be kind."

"Only a killer would know that. Is that right? From what I've seen, your funny little happy go lucky little life leaves devastation in its wake. Always moving on because you dare not look back. Playing with so many peoples' lives, you might as well be a god. And you're right, Doctor. You're absolutely right. Sometimes you let one go. Let me go." I watched as he thought about it, about her words. To me, that's all they were, words.

"What are you trying to pull? Begging for your life isn't particularly your way to do things. And just because you spared _one_ person, doesn't mean anything," I snapped, irritated by the tactic she had used, that she was trying to use the Doctor's guilt against him. "Honestly, I think this is part of a bigger plan. You wouldn't beg if it wasn't. So tell us, what is it?"

"You honestly think there is something more to this? You don't know what I went through," she said angrily. "In the family Slitheen, we had no choice. I was made to carry out my first kill at thirteen. If I'd refused, my father would have fed me to the Venom Grubs. If I'm a killer, it's because I was born to kill. It's all I know. Doctor, are you even listening to me?"

"Shut up a bit. Can you hear that, Doctor?" He nodded, no longer listening to Blon.

"I'm begging for my life."

"No, listen, shush."

"Be quiet and listen," I snapped before looking at the glasses before us and saw that they were vibrating. Suddenly the glass window shattered. I stood and ran out the door, with the Doctor and Margaret, before we took off towards the Tardis.

The Doctor and I were running as fast as we could down the stairs but Margaret was lagging behind, unable to keep up. "The handcuffs!"

We stopped running, waiting for her to catch up. When she did, he removed the bracelet from her wrist. "Don't think you're running away."

"Oh, I'm sticking with you. Some date this turned out to be!" I rolled my eyes annoyed but stopped when the Tardis came to view. Energy was streaming from the ship to the sky.

"It's the rift. The rift's opening!" I shook myself out of the daze I was in and ran inside, keeping myself close to the door. Jack was frantically trying to fix whatever was going on. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I told you no trouble, Jack."

"It just went crazy!"

"It's the rift. Time and space are ripping apart. The whole city's going to disappear!"

"It's the extrapolator. I've disconnected it but it's still feeding off the engine! It's using the Tardis. I can't stop it!" Both Jack and the Doctor were working on trying to amend the system.

"Never mind Cardiff, it's going to rip apart the planet."

Rose ran in and stood beside me. "What is it? What's happening?!"

"It's her," I said as a green arm grabbed me by the neck. Rose ran to stand behind Jack and the Doctor.

"One wrong move and she snaps like a promise."

"I might've known."

"She tried to warn you. This human is certainly smarter than you." I squirmed a bit, trying to get out of her steel vice. "Oh Doctor, I've had you bleating all night, poor baby, now shut it. You, fly boy, put the extrapolator at my feet." She tightened her grip on me. I brought my eyes to the Doctor's pleading with him not to do it and of course he didn't listen. After a quick nod to Jack, the extrapolator was put down by her. "Thank you. Just as I planned."

"I thought you needed to blow up the nuclear power station," Rose asked her.

"Failing that, if I were to be arrested, then anyone capable of tracking me down would have considerable technology of their own. Therefore, they would be captivated by the extrapolator. Especially a magpie mind like yours, Doctor. So the extrapolator was programmed to go to plan B. To lock onto the nearest alien power source and open the rift. And what a power source it found. I'm back on schedule, thanks to you."

"The rift's going to convulse. You'll destroy the whole planet."

"And you with it!" she exclaimed as she stood on the device. "While I ride this board over the crest of the inferno all the way to freedom. Stand back, boys. Surf's up." As she said that, the console opened and a bright light hit her.

"Of course, opening the rift means you'll pull this ship apart."

"So sue me."

"It's not just any old power source. It's the Tardis. My Tardis. The best ship in the universe."

"It'll make wonderful scrap."

"What's that light?"

"The heart of the Tardis."

"The ship's alive," I choked out.

"You've opened its soul."

"It's so bright."

Look at it Margaret."

"Beautiful."

"Look inside, Blon Fel Fotch. Look at the light."

Margaret relaxed and I was able to break free from her. I ran to Rose and watched as Margaret looked at the Doctor, smiling a genuine smile. "Thank you," she said as she disappeared, leaving behind an empty body suit.

"Don't look. Stay there. Close your eyes!" The Doctor went and closed the console.

"Now, Jack, come on, shut it all down. Shut down! Rose, that panel over there, turn all the switches to the right. Cerys, come here." I walked over to him and he wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "Nicely done. Thank you, all," he said after Rose and Jack had done what he had said and the Tardis stopped shaking.

"What happened to Margaret?"

"Must've got burnt up. Carried out her own death sentence."

I shook my head at Jack, the Doctor saw and agreed. "No, I don't think she's dead."

"Then where'd she go?"

"She looked into the heart of the Tardis. Even I don't know how strong that is. And the ship's telepathic, like I told you, Rose. Gets inside your head. Translates alien languages. Maybe the raw energy can translate all sorts of thoughts."

The Doctor removed his arm from me and we crouched down, him picking up a large egg with tentacle on the top. He came back over and resumed his previous stance, his arm wrapped around my shoulder. "Here she is." He handed me the egg.

"She's an egg?"

He looked at me, motioning for me to explain. "She reverted back to a child."

"She's an egg?"

I looked at the Doctor, not knowing if he wanted me to continue. He nodded at my unasked question. "She's getting a second chance. I guess when we take her back home, give her to a good family, she be raised right."

"Or she might be worse."

"Thanks, Jack. Either way, it's up to her."

"She's an egg."

"She's an egg."

"Oh, my God. Mickey," Rose said as she bolted from the Tardis.

The Doctor looked down at me, barely containing his grin. I glanced from him to Jack, confused by their smiling faces. I shook my head and tried to move from under the Doctor but he held me to him, only to release me for a moment before he dragged me to the captain's chair and sat me down. He started fiddling with the knobs and buttons while Jack leaned against the railing by me. The door then opened and Rose entered the Tardis. She was alone, meaning her and Mickey had a row or he didn't want to come with. "We're all powered up. Opening the rift filled us up with energy. We can go, if that's alright."

"Yeah, fine."

"How's Mickey?"

"He's okay. He's gone."

"Do you want to go and find him? We'll wait."

"No need. He deserves better." My eyes shot to her and I stood, going to meet her at the door, hugging her when I reached. She was playing strong, something I had taught her a long time ago. I didn't push, knowing that we would talk later on, after everyone had gone to sleep.

"Off we go, then. Always moving on-"

"Next stop, Raxacoricofallapatorius. Now you don't often get to say that."

"We'll just stop by and pop her in the hatchery. Margaret the Slitheen can live her life again. A second chance."

"That'd be nice," Rose muttered before leaving the room. I followed her, knowing she was going to her room.

When I reached, the door was closed. I knocked and after hearing a sniffle, let myself in. I found Rose lying on her bed sobbing harder than I'd ever seen. I quickly went and sat beside her, soothingly stroking her hair. I remained quiet as he cried, waiting for her to calm down. After a while, she sat up, and gave me a shaky chuckle. "Thanks, Cerys."

"Anytime. Besides, you've always been there for me."

"Yeah."

"This had to do with Mickey and you, yeah?"

"Yeah. He hates me. I keep coming back and running off. He never knows where I am. He said I made him feel like he was nothing. I hurt him."

"He doesn't. He's just upset. Think about it, Rosie. Mickey and you have been together for years. Of course you running off's going to bother him. You're kind of his life."

"I suppose. He's seeing Trisha Delaney now."

"That's nice."

"He was supposed to go out with her tonight but I called and he came running. All he wanted was a promise that I was going to come back for him. I couldn't even give him that. He didn't ask me to stay with him. But then there was the earthquake and I ran off. He was so upset but I had to come back, I had to make sure you guys were alright."

"Then you went to look for him?"

"Yeah, but I couldn't find him. That was it, I pushed him away."

"Just give him time. Mickey'll come around. He always does for you."

"Yeah." Rose shook her head and brandished a smile. "So, you had a date, huh?"

"Yeah."

"With the Doctor?"

"Margaret, sorry, Blon, was there too, so it wasn't much of a date. Besides, I'm not really the dinner type of girl."

"You prefer anything that gets your adrenaline pumping."

"Exactly."

The two of us laughed a bit, with Rose going on about how perfect the Doctor and I were together, leaving me redder than a tomato. "Cerys, I think I'm ready for bed, the emotional strain and all."

"Alright. Call me if you need anything," I said as I gave her a quick hug and stood and left her to sleep.

I had gone to my room for a while to change. The outfit I was wearing, although nice, was a bit uncomfortable. Once I had gotten into my usual attire, I laid on the floor and watched the stars on my wall shift as the Tardis moved through space. After about an hour, there was a knock on my door. Getting up, I opened it and saw it was Jack. He grabbed my wrist and dragged me to the console room where Rose and the Doctor were waiting. "What's the deal?"

"We're there. Raxacoriofallapatorious, outside those doors." Rose grabbed Margaret's egg and ran to the door.

Jack released me as I pulled away, running out with her. We were in a building, a cupboard. I turned around to face the Doctor. "Always a cupboard."

"Have to keep the Tardis hidden. Alright, quick pop into the hatchery and off we go." We nodded before smiling at each other, a knowing look passing through us.

Twenty minutes later, the egg was in the hatchery, the Doctor had told the Raxacoricofallapatorians to make sure they raise her right, and we were back in the Tardis. Laughter rang through the console room as Jack told a joke. I sat in the captain's chair, enjoying the down time. "Doctor, I was thinking, can we go to Japan?"

"Don't see why not. Specific time and place?"

"Kyoto, 1336. It was such a fascinating time."

"Kyoto," he said as he messed with the console. "1336." There was a jolt, and the wheezing before we managed to land. "Easy."

I jumped out of the chair and opened the Tardis doors. Outside I saw the distinguishable Japanese architecture. Turning around, I hugged the Doctor and ran out, grabbing Rose in the process. The two of us explored the area for a bit before we ran into the Doctor and Jack. "So, why this year?"

"This is the year Kyoto was overtaken by Ashikaga Takauji, an ally to Emperor Go-Daigo. Takauji put someone else on the throne but Go-Daigo wasn't idle. Although he was a refugee, he set up a Southern Court in Yoshino. The two rule in competition until 1392. It was known as Nanbokucho," I stated as we walked around, my hand in the Doctor's. I swung our hands happily, taking the beauty that surrounded us.

"Rebellions and wars were Cerys' favorite subject in school."

"I could imagine."

"Hey! They're extremely interesting. We should probably just be really good observers," I started as the Doctor pulled from me and walked off to speak with a man who stood by a small building. "They weren't very open to Westerners." The man started to get angry, calling the attention of other men. I groaned and walked over to them, apologizing to the man. He glared at me and turned around while I grabbed the Doctor's arm. "Did you hear nothing I said? This is supposed to be a peaceful trip."

"I was just asking a question."

"Yes, and now they're coming after us," Jack stated matter-of-factly.

"You just attract trouble," I snapped as we took off running through the streets. "I don't know why I thought this would be any different."

"I was just asking a question about the Emperor."

"You don't do that in 1336 Japan!" Rose grabbed my arm and pulled me into the Tardis as I almost ran past it. Turning to the Doctor, I glared at him and sat in the captain's chair. "You, don't talk to me for ten minutes." Unable to take their looks, I stood and left the room.

Wandering around the Tardis, I found myself in the library. I seemed as if I spent majority of my time there in between adventures. It was my favorite place, with the smell of books and the warmth that enveloped the room, and the peace of mind it brought me. I sighed, finding a book to read and sat in my usual spot on the floor. So enveloped in the book, I didn't realize that I was no longer alone. "Can I talk to you now?" I nodded. "I had a friend who loved this room. Asked the Tardis to design it like this."

"She was brilliant then. The room's beautiful."

"How'd you know it was a she?"

"For the most part, I think a woman of reading would love a library like this." I closed the book and patted the spot beside me. The Doctor came and sat down, leaning back against the sofa. "The dream I had-"

"You don't have to tell me."

"I want to. Maybe you could help, especially if you knew them."

"If you're sure then."

"At first I thought she was getting married but they ran off. I didn't understand that, to be honest. It felt like they didn't need it, they were already married. The man said he wanted the world to know she was his. She thought of herself as a half-breed. It was sad and beautiful, their love for one another. Anyways, she was taken from him, and contained in some sort of cell. She was tortured daily. There was a man, he took her; I think he killed her. I'm not sure though. Do you know… Doctor, are you alright?"

"Fine. They're just dreams, figments of your imagination."

"Liar. You're visibly shaken. It's something you don't want to talk about, is that it? If it is, I understand." I leaned my head on his shoulder. "Whenever you are ready to talk, I'm here."

He took my hand and examined the bracelet on my wrist. "Where'd you get it?"

"I don't know. I've always had it. I tend to forget I'm wearing it unless I'm nervous or thinking."

"You fidget with it?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"You're so much like her." I glanced up at him to see he was deep in thought. "She used to sit here, in this very spot, and read. She went through every book in the library, twice. She just absorbed everything she read, anything that caught her interest."

"What happened to her?"

"She died, in the war. You know what happened."

"No, I don't." He looked at me, a small encouraging smile on his face. "Wait, that was her?! The girl in my dream?"

"Yes. Thing is, why are you dreaming about her."

"I don't know. You said we're alike. Maybe that's why."

"Could be."

"We'll figure it out though, right?" I asked hopefully.

"Yeah."

"I have a question though." He glanced at me, waiting for the question. I looked down at our intertwined hands, trying to word the question. "Did you figure out why Rose was so concerned about me?"

"I did."

"And what was the reason?" He started to speak but a bright light cut him off and blinded me. I tightened my grip on his hand as the white light surrounded us.

* * *

_Finally, another update. Since the last one, I've been stressing over end of term exams. University is a killer. Anyways, I was so sad when I didn't see any reviews on the last chapter but eh, can't expect them all the time. _

_I'm honestly dying from DW withdrawal and the old episodes aren't doing it for me. I need August to hurry up and come. But on a different note, I ended up getting obsessed with Beauty and the Beast (cbs I think). It's actually kind of good. I've also started on Robin Hood. Didn't think I'd like it but it's pretty rad. _

_I believe that's all of my rambling for now. If all works and I finish my paper, I'll post another two chapters before the weekend ends. _


	16. Bad Wolf

The Doctor held me to him as we laid on the floor. Jumping to our feet, we hit the walls as the cupboard spun. "What is it? What's going on?" I asked him before he hit the door, falling face first out of the spinning room, me landing on top of him.

"Oh my God! I don't believe it! Why'd they put you in there? They never said you were coming."

"What happened? We were…"

I stood, helping the Doctor up as I tried to keep my balance. "Careful now," a girl in a pink shirt said to me as she held onto my arm. "Oh! Oh, mind yourselves!" she said as he fell again, pulling me with him. "Oh, that was the transmat. It scrambles your head. I was sick for days." She stopped talking and looked at our unsteady figures as we stood. "Alright? So, what's your name then, sweetheart?" she asked the Doctor. For some reason, her calling him sweetheart irritated me.

"The Doctor, I think. She's Cerys. We were, er. I don't know what happened? How-" He pulled me closer to him, trying to support himself as I did on the girl, although by then I had long pulled away from her.

"You got chosen."

"Chosen for what?"

"You're a housemate. You're in the house. Isn't that brilliant?!" I looked around. There was a pink screen with an eye on it and a man standing by in a matching pink shirt. He looked very unhappy.

"That's not fair. We've got eviction in five minutes! I've been here for all nine weeks. I've followed the rules, I haven't had a single warning, and then they come swanning in."

Another person joined us, a dark skinned woman with braids wearing the same pink shirt as the other two with her arms crossed. "If they keep changing the rules, I'm going to protest, I am. You watch me; I'm going to paint the walls." I looked around, seeing cameras, portraits, a television, a kitchen adjacent to the living room, and rooms to the side.

"Would the Doctor and Cerys please come to the Diary Room?" We looked at each other and with a shrug, we went through a metal door. In the middle was a big red chair against a black background. The Doctor dropped down in it while I sat on his lap. He glanced at me for a moment, an expression I thought was shock written on his face, but I rolled my eyes, not really caring about his disdain, or lack thereof. I wanted to know how we had gone from the library, _in the Tardis_, to wherever we were. "You are live on channel forty four thousand. Please do not swear."

"You have got to be kidding," we said at the same time.

I quickly stood and exited the room. The Doctor followed closely behind, his sonic screwdriver out and ready. He began to check out the place, walking around the room until he got to a door, sonicing it. "I can't open it."

"It's got a deadlock seal, ever since Big Brother five hundred and four when they all walked out. You must remember that."

"Big Brother? The show? Wait, five hundred and four? How long has this been running?" The people rolled their eyes at me. "I could have sworn I just asked a question. Maybe I'm going mad. But I thought-" The Doctor came over and put a hand over my mouth and dragged me over to an alcove he was examining.

"What about this?"

"Oh, that's exoglass. You'd need a nuclear bomb to get through."

"Don't tempt me.

"I know you're not supposed to talk about the outside world, but you must've been watching. Do people like me? Lynda. Lynda with a Y, not Linda with an I. She got forcibly evicted because she damaged the camera. Am I popular?"

He dropped his hand from my mouth, taking my hand instead. "I don't remember."

"Oh, but does that mean I'm nothing? Some people get this far just because they're insignificant. Doesn't anybody notice me?"

"No, you're, you're nice. You're sweet. Everybody thinks you're sweet."

"Oh, is that right? Is that what I am? Oh, no one's ever told me that before. Am I sweet? Really?"

I rolled my eyes at her, not that she noticed. Her attention was solely on him. The Doctor gave my hand a quick squeeze. "Yeah. Dead sweet."

Thank you."

"It's a wall. Isn't there supposed to be a garden out there or something?"

"Don't be daft. No one's got a garden anymore. Who's got a garden? Don't tell me you've got a garden."

"No, I've just got the Tardis. I remember."

"That's the amnesia! So what happened? Where did they get you?"

"We'd just left Raxacoriofallapatorius. Then we went to Kyoto. That's right, Japan in 1336, and we only just escaped."

"Because you angered some of Takauji's men."

"Cerys was upset too. She wanted a peaceful trip to her favorite time period. We were together, minus Cerys. We were laughing, and then I went to get her. We were in the library, and then there was this light. This white light coming through the walls, and then…"

"We woke up here," I finished.

"Yeah, that's the transmat beam. That's how they pick the housemates."

"Oh, Lynda with a Y. Sweet little Lynda. It's worse than that. I'm not just some passing traveler. No stupid little transmat gets inside my ship. That beam was fifteen million times more powerful, which means this isn't just a game. There's something else going on." He turned to talk to the cameras. "Well, here's the latest update from the Big Brother house. We're getting out. We're going to find our friends, and then I'm going to find you," he said, tapping the camera. I nodded after him. I wanted to find them as well and I was not getting left there with those people.

I stood by the Doctor as he continued his efforts to escape. As much as I wanted to help, there was nothing I could do. Instead I watched the other people in the house, hoping none of them would try to stop him. "Doctor, Cerys, they said all the housemates must gather on the sofa. You've got to," Lynda said from the sofa.

"I'm busy getting out, thanks."

"But if you don't obey, then all the housemates get punished." He stopped what he was doing and rolled his eyes, grabbing my hand and pulling me along with him as he walked over to the settee.

"Well, maybe we'll be voted out."

"How stupid are you? You've only just joined, you're not eligible," the man stated.

"Don't try anything clever or we all get it in the neck." The Doctor shrugged and pulled me down as he sat. I ended up on his lap again. As I moved to take the seat beside him, I felt his grip on my hand tighten a bit but he soon released it. Thinking it was just a figment of my imagination, I huffed out a small breath and got comfortable in the seat.

Suddenly a voice came on and the three grabbed hands, Crosbie grabbing the Doctor's. "**Big Brother House this is, Davina Droid. Crosbie, Lynda and Strood, you have all been nominated for eviction. And the eighth person to be evicted from the Big Brother House is…**" the voice paused, as if building up the suspense. "**Crosbie!**" He leaned back, his expression showing his boredom. I just sighed and waited for it all to be over.

"I'm sorry! Oh, I'm sorry! Sorry!"

"Oh, it should've been me. Oh, that's not fair, Crosbie love." The man and Lynda hugged the girl.

**"****Crosbie, you have ten seconds to make your farewells, and then we're going to get you."**

"I won't forget you."

"I'm sorry I stole your soap."

"I don't mind, honestly."

"Thanks for the food. You're a smashing cook. Bless you."

"**Crosbie, please leave the Big Brother House.**" A door to a white corridor opened. It had another door at the end of it.

"Bye, then. Bye, Lynda."

"Bye," Lynda said as an arch was made and Crosbie walked through. "I don't believe it. Crosbie."

"It's just a stupid game show," I said.

"She'll make a fortune on the outside. Sell her story, release a record, fitness video, all of that. She'll be laughing."

"What do you mean, _on the outside_?"

"Here we go," the man said as he and Lynda ran over to the sofa to watch Crosbie on the screen.

"What are they waiting for?"

"Why aren't they letting her through?"

"Stop it, it's not funny."

"**Eviction in five, four, three, two, one.**" We watched as a beam came from the ceiling and struck Crosbie. After a bit, she vanished, leaving nothing behind.

"What was that?"

The Doctor sat up, interested and confused. "Disintegrator beam."

"She's been evicted. From life."

I stood up, my eyes ablaze. "Are you people insane?"

"You just step right into the disintegrator? Is it that important, getting your face on the telly? Is it worth dying for?"

"You're talking like we've got a choice!"

"But I thought you had to apply?"

"Don't be so stupid. That's how they played it centuries back."

I turned to the man. "If you don't have anything helpful to say, then shut up." He nodded and I turned to Lynda for her to continue.

"You get chosen whether you like it or not. Everyone on Earth is a potential contestant. The transmat beam picks you out at random. And it's nonstop. There are sixty Big Brother houses running all at once."

"Sixty?"

"They've had to cut back. It's not what it was."

"It's a charnel house! What about the winners? What do they get?"

"They get to live."

"Is that is?" the Doctor asked.

"Well, isn't that enough?"

"Doctor, Rose is out there! If anything she got caught in the transmat too. She's a contestant now."

"I know. Time we got out. That other contestant, er, Linda with an I. She was forcibly evicted for what?"

"Damage to property."

"What, like this?" he asked as he soniced a camera, destroying it. As he did that, I began to throw anything that could be broken.

"**The Doctor and Cerys, you've broken the House Rules. Big Brother has no choice but to evict you.**" The Doctor smiled and pumped his fists in the air, standing.** "You have ten seconds to make your farewells, and then we're going to get you!**"

"That's more like it." He took my hand and we ran over to the door. "Come on then. Open up!"

"You're mad, the both of you. It's like you want to die."

"I reckon they're a plant. They were only brought in to stir things up."

"Again with the talking."

The door finally opened. "**The Doctor and Cerys, please leave the Big Brother house.**"

We ran out to the corridor, standing in the middle, hand in hand. "Come on then, disintegrate us! Come on, what're you waiting for?" The Doctor leaned against the wall, his arms crossed around me.

"**Eviction in five, four, three, two, one.**" As it hit one, the machine shut down.

"Ah, ha! I knew it! You see, someone brought me into this game. If they'd wanted me dead, they could've transmatted me into a volcano. They wanted me alive."

"Hmm, maybe the security isn't all that good."

"Are you following this? We're getting out." Just as he opened the door, Lynda opened the door on her end. "Come with us."

"We're not allowed."

"Stay in there, you've got a fifty-fifty chance of disintegration. Stay with me, I promise I'll get you out alive. Come on!"

"No, I can't. I can't."

"Lynda, you're sweet. From what I've seen of your world, do you think anyone votes for sweet?" I asked her. As much as I hated her giving him googly eyes, Lynda only had half a chance of surviving the game. If she _was_ sweet, she'd most likely lose. The Doctor held his hand out to her. She looked back before grabbing it and running out with us.

When the door closed, the Doctor looked around. "Hold on. I've been here before. This is Satellite Five. No guards. That makes a change. You'd think a big business like Satellite Five would be armed to the teeth."

"Wait, the place you went to with Rose and Adam?"

"Yes," he answered as we went through another door.

"No one's called it Satellite Five in ages. It's the Game Station now. Hasn't been Satellite Five in about a hundred years."

"A hundred years exactly. It's the year two zero zero one zero zero. I was here before, floor one three nine. The Satellite was broadcasting news channels back then. Had a bit of trouble upstairs. Nothing too serious. Easy. Gave them a hand, home in time for tea." He walked around, turning things on and sonicing the walls.

"A hundred years ago? What, you were here a hundred years ago?"

"Yep!"

"You're looking good on it."

"I moisturize." He shot her a cheeky grin.

"Don't. I'm still a bit upset over that."

"What for?" I cocked my head to the side. Rose and I had told him all about our conversation with Cassandra. "Oh, right. Well, that's in the future."

"We're on the same satellite too."

He nodded. "Anyways, funny sorts of readings. All kinds of energy. The place is humming. It's weird. This goes way beyond normal transmissions. What would they need all that power for?" We walked over to another door, the Doctor placing his hand on a security pad.

"I don't know. I think we're the first ever contestants to get outside."

"I had two other friends travelling with me. They must've got caught in the same transmat. Where would they be?"

"I don't know. They could've been allocated anywhere. There's a hundred different games."

"Like?"

"Well, there's ten floors of Big Brother. There's a different House behind each of those doors. And then beyond that, there's all sorts of shows. It's nonstop. There's Call My Bluff, with real guns. Countdown, where you've got thirty seconds to stop the bomb going off. Ground Force, which is a nasty one. You get turned into compost. Er, Wipeout, speaks for itself. Oh, and Stars In Their Eyes. Literally, stars in their eyes. If you don't sing, you get blinded."

"And you watch this stuff?"

"Everyone does. How come you don't?"

"Never paid for our licenses."

"Oh my God! You get executed for that."

"Let them try," he said, holding up the sonic screwdriver.

"You keep saying things that don't make sense. Who are you though, Doctor, really?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Well, it does to me. I've just put my life in your hands."

"I'm just a traveler, wandering past. Believe it or not, all I'm after is a quiet life."

"So, if we get out of here, what're you going to do? Just wander off again?"

"Fast as we can."

"So, I could come with you?"

"Maybe you could."

"I wouldn't get in the way."

"I wouldn't mind if you did." I rolled my eyes and walked away, pretending I was examining something. "Not a bad idea, Lynda with a Y. But first of all, we've got to concentrate on the getting out. And to do that, you've got to know your enemy. Who's controlling it? Who's in charge of the satellite now?"

"Hold on." She scampered past me and found a switch. Turning it on, a sign lit up saying Bad Wolf Corporation. "Your lords and masters." I glanced at it, remembering all the times those two words-Bad Wolf- came up. The Doctor came over to me, putting an arm around my shoulder as he led me to the observation deck. "Blimey! I've never seen it for real before. Not from orbit… planet Earth."

"What's happened to it?" he asked, looking down. I did as well and gasped. Earth was no longer blue and green but a white, with red spots in certain parts.

"Well, it's always been like that ever since I was born. See that there? That's the Great Atlantic Smog Storm. It's been going twenty years. We get newsflashes telling us when it's safe to breathe outside."

"So the population just sits there? Half the world's too fat, and half the world's too thin, and you lot just watch telly?"

"Ten thousand channels, all beaming down from here."

"The Human Race. Brainless sheep being fed on a diet of. Mind you, have they still got that program where three people have to live with a bear?"

"Oh, Bear With Me. I love that one!"

"And me. The celebrity edition where the bear got in the bath."

"Got in the bath!"

"Not the time," I reminded them.

"But it's all gone wrong," he replied, getting serious after my input. "I mean, history's gone wrong again. This should be the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. I don't understand. Last time I was here I put it right."

"No, but that's when it first went wrong. A hundred years ago, like you said. All the news channels, they just shut down overnight."

"But that was me. I did that."

"There was nothing left in their place. No information. The whole planet just froze. The government, the economy, they collapsed. That was the start of it. One hundred years of hell."

"Oh my… I made this world." I squeezed him a bit, offering him some comfort.

As we stood there looking down at Earth, I heard footsteps. Turning around, a huge smile graced my face when I saw it was Jack. "Hey, handsome, beautiful. Good to see you two. Any sign of Rose?"

I pulled from the Doctor to give Jack a hug. Letting go, I took in his appearance. "Loving the outfit. Nice gun."

"Thanks."

"Can't you track her down?" the Doctor asked, interrupting us.

"She must still be inside the games. All the rooms are shielded."

"If I can just get inside this computer. She's got to be in here somewhere."

"Well, you better hurry up. These games don't have a happy ending."

"We know," I said before the Doctor could. I could sense his growing irritation and I didn't feel like having to calm him down. Jack looked at me as he removed his wrist computer and handed it to the Doctor.

"There you go, patch that in. It's programmed to find her." He handed the Doctor his wrist thing.

"Thanks."

Jack then turned his attention to Lynda. "Hey, there."

"Hello."

"Captain Jack Harkness."

"Lynda Moss."

"Nice to meet you, Lynda Moss."

"Do you mind flirting outside?"

"I was just saying hello! Besides, _you_ flirt with Cerys."

"For you, that's flirting," the Doctor said, completely ignoring his second sentence.

"I'm not complaining."

"Muchas gracias."

"It's not compatible. This stupid system doesn't make sense." He gave the computer to Lynda and kicked the console, coming to stand by me after his small tantrum. A moment after he'd calmed, he and Jack pulled off the front plate. "This place should be a basic broadcaster, but the systems are twice as complicated. It's more than just television. This station's transmitting something else."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. This whole Bad Wolf thing's tied up with me. Someone's manipulated my entire life. It's some sort of trap and Rose is stuck inside it."

I stood there thinking for a bit about that. If that were true, why would they involve Rose and me? I shook my head. "No, this isn't just about you, Doctor. Rose and I were dragged into this but it's been going on for a while. It involves the three of us."

He nodded and walked back to the computer. "Found her. Floor four oh seven."

"Oh my God, she's with the Anne Droid. You've got to get her out of there." The four of us ran to the lift, pressing the button.

"Come on! Hurry up!"

When it finally came, we piled in. The Doctor soniced the panel so that the elevator would get to 407 faster. After about a minute, it stopped and the doors opened, we ran out, frantically looking for the room Rose was in. "Game Room Six, which one is it?"

"Right here!" I called.

The other three came over. Jack got out his gun, aiming it at the door. "Stand back, let me blast it."

I backed away but the Doctor didn't. "You can't. It's made of Hydra combination." He went over to the lock and started to work on it. "Come on. Come on."

"Doctor…"

"I know, Cerys." A moment later, the door opened and we all ran into the room.

"Rose!"

"Stop this game!"

"Rose, you leave this life with nothing," the Anne Droid said.

"Stop this game!"

"I order you to stop this game!"

"You are the weakest link."

"Look out for the Anne Droid. It's armed!" Rose yelled as she ran to us. Just as she reached us, it shot her, leaving nothing but dust.

I stared at it, tears in my eyes. "What the hell did you do to her?" I heard Jack ask. I walked over to the pile and knelt down, allowing my tears to fall before I stood. If she was gone, I had nothing left to lose. I looked around, watching as Jack tried to fight off the oncoming guards. "Leave her alone!" he yelled as one grabbed me. On autopilot, I grabbed his hand and threw him to the floor, punching him, once he had hit. As more came to me, I quickly and easily took them out, not caring how badly I injured them or how hurt I ended up. I didn't notice them taking the Doctor. All I could hear were Jack's angry yells. "You killed her! You're stupid freaking game show killed her!"

Just as an officer grabbed my shoulder, I twisted out of the grip and into another. Soon I had four guards holding me. "I'm arresting you under the Private Legislation Sixteen of the Game Station Syndicate." One said as the four escorted me out of the room, with the Doctor and Jack following with their own guards.

After a while, we were all sitting in a cell. Although Jack, the Doctor, and Lynda were free to use their hands, I was handcuffed and chained to a bar. "Can you tell us the purpose of this device, sir? Can you tell us how you got on board?"

"Just leave him alone," Lynda said.

The man snapped around, grabbing her by the jaw. "I'm asking him." He released her jaw and turned back to the Doctor. "Sir? Can you tell us who you are?" The Doctor remained silent. The guard sighed and reached for Jack, taking him away for a few minutes. The same was done with Lydia and the Doctor. When it came time for me, two guards roughly grabbed me and led me to have my mug shot taken. When bringing me back, only one guard went in. They didn't chain me back to the bar, to my slight happiness. While they were on, the handcuffs had been digging into my skin, and had left a bit of a mark. "You will be taken from this place to the Lunar Penal Colony, there to be held without trial. You may not appeal against this sentence. Is that understood?" We said nothing. The guard shook his head and waited for the cage to be unlocked.

"Let's do it," the Doctor said as we all stood. Jack led the way, fighting the two guards that were present. Once they were down, Jack picked up his gun and the Doctor grabbed his sonic screwdriver. He quickly grabbed my arm and examined it. Dropping them a moment later, he strode away. I rubbed my wrists some more and followed Jack out of the room and to the lift. Once in, we stood there, waiting for it to reach the top floor. "Floor 500."

When we reached Floor 500, Jack took charge, pointing his gun at them. I walked behind him, my movements stiff. "Okay, move away from the desk! Nobody try anything clever. Everybody clear? Stand to the side and stay there."

"Who's in charge of this place?" he asked, pointing the gun at a white as paper woman with tubes coming out of her body.

"Nineteen, eighteen."

"This satellite's more than a Game Station."

"Seventy nine, eighty."

"Who killed Rose Tyler?"

"All staff are reminded that solar flares-"

"I want an answer!"

"Occur in delta point one."

"She can't reply. Don't shoot!" a man pled as the Doctor turned to him.

"Oh, don't be so thick. Like I was ever going to shoot," the Doctor said as he threw the gun to the man.

"Captain, we've got more guards on the way up. Secure the exits."

"Yes, sir."

"You, what were you saying?"

"But I've got your gun."

"Okay, so shoot me. Why can't she answer?"

"She's er. Can I put this down?"

"If you want. Just hurry up."

The man dropped the gun. "Thanks. Sorry. The Controller is linked to the transmissions. The entire output goes through her brain. You're not a member of staff so she doesn't recognize your existence."

"What's her name?"

"I don't know. She was installed when she was five years old. That's the only life she's ever known."

"Door's sealed. We should be safe for about ten minutes."

"Keep an eye on them."

"But that stuff you were saying about something going on with the Game Station. I think you're right. I've kept a log. Unauthorized transmats, encrypted signals, it's been going on for years."

"Show me."

Jack walked over to a door titled Archive Six and tried to open it. "You're not allowed in there. Archive Six is out of bounds."

"Do I look like an out of bounds sort of guy?" Jack asked, holding up his guns as he opened the door and went in.

"Solar flare activity in delta point zero fifteen."

"If you're not holding us hostage, then open the door and let us out. The staff are terrified."

"That's the same staff who execute hundreds of contestants every day."

"That's not our fault. We're just doing our jobs."

"And with that sentence you just lost the right to even talk to me. Now back off!" Suddenly the power died.

"That's just the solar flares. They interfere with the broadcast signal, so this place automatically powers down. Planet Earth gets a few repeats. It's all quite normal."

"Doctor?"

"Whatever it is, you can wait."

"I think she wants you."

"Doctor? Doctor? Where's the Doctor?"

He ran up to her. "I'm here."

"Can't see. I'm blind. So blind. All my life, blind. All I can see is numbers, but I saw you."

"What do you want?"

"Solar flares hiding me. They can't hear me. My masters, they always listen but they can't hear me now. The sun, the sun is so bright."

Who are your masters?"

"They wired my head. The name's forbidden. They control my thoughts. My masters. My masters, I had to be careful. They monitor transmissions but they don't watch the programs. I could hide you inside the games. Knew that you would find me."

"My friend died inside your games."

"Doesn't matter."

My head snapped to the woman as she said that, storming up to her from my spot by Lynda. "Don't you ever say that! She was my sister and she mattered. She mattered so much!" I screamed. The Doctor grabbed me and pulled me to him, quieting and comforting me.

"They've been hiding. My masters hiding in the dark space, watching and shaping the Earth so, so, so many years. Always been there, guiding humanity, hundreds and hundreds of years."

"Who are they?"

"They wait and plan and grow in numbers. They're strong now. So strong, my masters."

"Who are they?"

"But they speak of you, my masters, they fear the Doctor."

"Tell me, who are they?" As he asked, the lights came back on.

"Twenty one, twenty two."

"When's the next solar flare?"

"Two years' time."

"Fat lot of good that is."

Found the Tardis," Jack reported as he ran back in.

"We're not leaving now."

"No, but the Tardis worked it out." He grabbed the man sitting in a seat, pulling him up and away from the controls. "You'll want to watch this. Lynda, could you stand over there for me please?"

"I just want to go home."

"It'll only take a second. Could you stand in that spot, quick as you can. Everybody watching? Okay. Three, two, one." A beam came down and Lynda vanished.

"But you killed her!"

"Oh, do you think?" He pressed another button and she reappeared next to me and the Doctor.

"What the hell was that?" Lynda asked.

"It's a transmat beam. Not a disintegrator, a secondary transmat system. People don't get killed in the games. They get transported across space. Doctor, Cerys, Rose is still alive!" I pushed away from the Doctor as he and Jack hugged. It's wasn't that I didn't believe him, I just needed to see her in front of me.

"She's out there somewhere."

"Doctor, coordinates five point six point one-"

"Don't, the solar flares' gone. They'll hear you."

"Point four three four. No, my masters, no! I defy you! Stigma seven seven-" The Controller disappeared leaving a scream.

"They took her," the Doctor stated.

"Look, use that. It might contain the final numbers. I kept a log of all the unscheduled transmissions," the man whom we'd first spoken to said.

"Nice. Thanks. Captain Jack Harkness, by the way."

"I'm Davitch Pavale."

"Nice to meet you, Davitch Pavale."

"There's a time and a place."

"Are you saying this entire set up's been a disguise all along?" the woman asked.

"Going way back. Installing the Jagrafess a hundred years ago. Someone's been playing a long game, controlling the human race from behind the scenes for generations."

"Click on this," Jack said, handing the Doctor a small cylinder object. He pointed it and pulled up a screen, showing a specific area in space. "The transmat delivers to that point, right on the edge of the solar system." I moved to the computer Jack was at, looking at the screen.

"There's nothing there."

"No," I started, my voice coming out hoarse. "It just looks that way. There's another signal under the transmission."

"Doing what?"

"Hiding whatever's out there. Hiding it from sonar, radar, and scanner. There's something sitting right on top of planet Earth, but it's completely invisible. If I cancel the signal…" the Doctor trailed off as he did so. On the screen, a large flying saucer came to view. It zoomed out to show that there was more than one. I saw him tense as a stressed expression crossed his face. I grabbed his hand, giving him as much comfort as I could. Somehow, I knew what they were, that they were evil, that they were the cause of his pain. My thoughts instantly went to our trip to America, where we had met Van Statten, where we had encountered the Dalek. Something told me they were in those ships.

"That's impossible. I know those ships. They were destroyed."

"Obviously, they survived."

"Who did? Who are they?"

"Two hundred ships. More than two thousand on board each one. That's just about half a million of them."

"Half a million what?"

"Daleks." I looked to the ground before turning my gaze to the Doctor. He was calmly and quietly seething, his grip on my hand tightening each moment.

Coming to that conclusion, the screen changed to the saltshakers. "I will talk to the Doctor."

"Oh, will you?" the Doctor pulled away from me, walking towards the large screen. "That's nice. Hello!"

"The Dalek stratagem nears completion. The fleet is almost ready. You will not intervene."

"Oh, really? What's that, then?"

"We have your associate. You will obey or she will be exterminated."

"No." I watched as everyone looked at the Doctor, not understanding why he had said no. I, on the other hand, understood and knew he was implying. He wasn't going to obey them. He was going to intervene. He was going to meddle and stop them, not only because of what they'd done to him, but that was who he was.

"Explain yourself."

"I said no."

"What is the meaning of this negative?"

"It means no."

"But she will be destroyed."

"No!" he exclaimed, standing. "Because this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to rescue her. I'm going to save Rose Tyler from the middle of the Dalek fleet and then I'm going to save the Earth, and then, just to finish off, I'm going to wipe every last stinking Dalek out of the sky!"

"But you have no weapons, no defences, no plan."

"Yeah. And doesn't that scare you to death." The Doctor grabbed my hand and pulled me to the screen. "Rose?"

"Yes, Doctor?"

"Say something to Cerys. She thinks you're dead."

"You can't get rid of me that easily, Cer." I nodded, happy she was alright.

"I'm coming to get you," the Doctor told her before he ended the transmission with his sonic. Once that was done, we began planning.

* * *

_Oh my gosh, we literally have one more chapter before we reach Ten. I can feel the tears coming. I hope the way he tried to comfort Cerys made sense. My basic goal was to completely change the whole the Doctor's in love with Rose thing in this story. As much as I loved it in the show (and will use in my new fic) I wanted this to revolve wholly around the Doctor and Cerys, him thinking of Rose as Cerys' sister and a friend to him. But yeah, that's all I had to really say. Oh, and thank you **ZoeyMarieSnape** for your review. I'm so glad you're enjoying the story. _


	17. The Parting of Ways

_Hey all, so we've reached the last chapter for 9 :'( __I'm so sad about it but it's a step in learning more about Cerys and the relationship between her and Rose. There's a sweet moment between her and the Doctor as well. :) _

* * *

The Doctor, Jack and I ran to the Tardis. Once we were all inside, the Doctor immediately went to the console and started to fly her with the help of Jack. I held onto the Y beam, feeling just a bit useless. "We've got incoming!" Jack said just before missiles hit the Tardis, leaving nothing but a big fire ball. "The extrapolator's working. We've got a fully functional force field. Try saying that when you're drunk."

"And now for my next trick," the Doctor said, his expression hardened and he cracked his knuckles. The Tardis began to materialize around Rose and a Dalek. The two men stood before me, Jack ready to take out the Dalek.

"Rose, get down! Get down Rose!" Rose threw herself to the right.

"Exterminate!" The Dalek shouted as it fired at us and missed. Jack took his aim and fired, killing it with his gun, a modified defabricator.

She stood. "You did it." The Doctor hugged Rose before releasing her. I ran over, squeezing her. "Feels like I haven't seen you in years."

"I know," I muttered, a bit of a smile on my face. "But he did say he'd come get you."

"Never doubted it."

"I did. You alright?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Not bad, been better."

"Hey, don't I get a hug?"

"Oh, come here," Rose laughed and went to go hug Jack as I returned to the captain's chair.

"I was talking to him." Jack laughed, pointing at the Doctor who had moved over to examine the Dalek. Either way, he hugged Rose. "Welcome home."

"Oh, I thought I'd never see you again."

"Oh, you were lucky. That was just a one shot wonder. Drained the gun of all its power supply. Now it's just a piece of junk."

"You said they were extinct. How come they're still alive?" Rose asked as she stood beside me.

"One minute they're the greatest threat in the Universe, the next minute they vanished out of time and space."

"They went off to fight a bigger war. The Time War."

"I thought that was just a legend."

"I was there. The war between the Daleks and the Time Lords, with the whole of creation at stake. My people were destroyed, but they took the Daleks with them. I almost thought it was worth it. Now it turns out they died for nothing."

"No, they didn't," I said, drawing the three's attention to me. "It needed to happen, Doctor. I've seen how they were, remember? They might have been amazing prior to the war but they became monsters." I stood and strode over to him, pulling the Time Lord into a much needed hug.

"There's thousands of them now," Rose started. "We could hardly stop one. What're we going to do?"

"No good standing round here chin wagging. Human race, you'd gossip all day. The Daleks have got the answers. Let's go and meet the neighbours." The Doctor said after he'd pulled away and held his hand out to me. I took it and we walked to the door.

"You can't go out there! Cerys!" We ignored Rose and walked out, staying close to the Tardis. Rose and Jack soon followed us out.

"Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!" The Daleks shot at us but thanks to the force field, it didn't do anything.

"Is that it? Useless! Nul points. It's all right, come on out. That force field can hold back anything."

"Almost anything."

"Yes, but I wasn't going to tell them that. Thanks," he said humourlessly.

"Sorry."

"Do you know what they call me in the ancient legends of the Dalek Homeworld? The Oncoming Storm. You might've removed all your emotions but I reckon right down deep in your DNA, there's one little spark left… and that's fear. Doesn't it just burn when you face me? So tell me. How did you survive the Time War?"

"They survived through me," a voice in the dark said. We walked towards it, the lights came on to show a large apparatus that turned out to be a giant Dalek casing. There was a blue-skinned, one-eyed mutant that seemed happy to be seen on a throne.

"Rose, Cerys, Captain, this is the Emperor of Daleks."

"You destroyed us, Doctor. The Dalek race died in your inferno, but my ship survived, falling through time, crippled but alive."

"I get it."

"Do not interrupt," one screamed before they all began to chant it.

"I think you're forgetting something. I'm the Doctor, and if there's one thing I can do, it's talk. I've got five billion languages, and you haven't got one way of stopping me. So if anybody's going to shut up, it's you!" he bellowed, turning to face the other Daleks before returning his attention to the Emperor. I felt the Doctor squeeze my hand, almost like an apology for scaring me, when I had jumped. "Okey doke. So, where were we?"

"We waited here in the dark space, damaged but rebuilding," the Emperor continued. "Centuries passed, and we quietly infiltrated the systems of Earth, harvesting the waste of humanity. The prisoners, the refugees, the dispossessed. They all came to us. The bodies were filtered, pulped, sifted. The seed of the human race is perverted. Only one cell in a billion was fit to be nurtured."

"So you created an army of Daleks out of the dead."

"That makes them half human," Rose concluded.

"Those words are blasphemy."

"Do not blaspheme." Again, the fleet began to chant.

"Everything human has been purged. I cultivated pure and blessed Dalek."

"Since when did the Daleks have a concept of blasphemy?"

"I reached into the dirt and made new life. I am the God of all Daleks!"

"Worship him. Worship him. Worship him."

"They've gone mad," I whispered.

"Hiding in silence for hundreds of years, that's enough to drive anyone mad. But it's worse than that. Driven mad by your own flesh. The stink of humanity. You hate your own existence. And that makes them more deadly than ever. We're going."

"You may not leave my presence."

"Stay where you are."

"Exterminate!"

The four of us turned and walked back into the Tardis. As we did so, the Daleks, began to shoot at us, hitting nothing but the force field. "Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate! Worship him! You will be exterminated!" The Doctor stood by the door for a moment before returning to the console, bringing us back to Floor 500.

The Doctor ran out almost immediately after we had materialised. "Turn everything up. All transmitters full power, wide open. Now! Do it!"

"What does this do?"

"Stops the Daleks from transmatting on board. How did you get on? Did you contact Earth?"

"Well, we tried to warn them, but all they did was suspend our license because we stopped the programmes."

"And the planet's just sitting there, defenceless. Lynda, what're you still doing on board? I told you to evacuate everyone."

"She wouldn't go."

"Didn't want to leave you." Rose glanced at me but I turned away, not in the mood to answer whatever question she had.

"There weren't enough shuttles anyway, or I wouldn't be here. We've got about a hundred people stranded on Floor Zero," the Indian worker said.

"Oh, my God. The Fleet is moving. They're on their way."

I looked at Pavale, before I rushed over to the Doctor as he pulled things out of the conduits. I watched him intently before, going over to him and holding out my hand. He looked at it and handed me a pipe. "Dalek plan. Big mistake, because what have they left me with? Anyone? Anyone? Cerys?" I smiled, catching on. "Don't answer. Oh, come on, it's obvious. A great big transmitter. This station. If I can change the signal, fold it back, sequence it, anyone?"

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Right, that's it, Jack."

"Give the man a medal."

"A Delta Wave?" he asked.

"A Delta Wave!"

"What's a Delta Wave?"

I looked at Jack, hoping he'd explain it to her, which he did. "A wave of Van Cassadyne energy. It fries your brain. Stand in the way of a Delta Wave and your head gets barbequed."

"And this place can transmit a massive wave. Wipe out the Daleks!"

"Well, get started and do it then," Lynda practically ordered him.

I looked up from the piping, giving her my attention, noticing Rose's annoyed expression. "But there's a problem, Lynda. It'll take a while, even for the Doctor."

"Oh, thanks, Cerys."

I shot him a quick smile. "Anytime."

"But she's right. A wave this size, building this big, brain as clever as mine, should take about, oh, three days? How long till the Fleet arrives?"

"Twenty two minutes."

The Doctor and I had finished taking all that we needed and were rerouting them. Even with the small amount of time we had, most of the work was completed. He looked up from his work at me. "How'd you figure it out?"

"I don't know. Like I said before, I have all this information in my head. All the useful stuff just pops up when I need it. I guess it's useful and all."

"It is," he replied, as he looked up from his work.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"I'm reminding you of her again, aren't I?"

"Yes."

"Sorry."

"Not your fault."

Jack, Rose, Lynda, the Indian woman, and Davitch stood around a control board monitor. "We've now got a force field so they can't blast us out of the sky, but that doesn't stop the Daleks from physically invading."

"Do they know about the Delta Wave?" Davitch asked.

"They'll have worked it out at the same time. So, they'll want to stop the Doctor. That means they've got to get to this level, five hundred. Now, I can concentrate the extrapolator around the top six levels, five hundred to four nine five. So they'll penetrate the station below that at level four nine four and fight their way up."

"Who are they fighting?"

"Us."

"And what are we fighting with?"

"Bastic bullets," I replied.

"The guards had guns with bastic bullets. That's enough to blow a Dalek wide open," Jack agreed.

"There's five of us," the woman said.

"Rose, you can help me," the Doctor called. "I need all these wires stripping bare."

"Right. Now there's four of us."

I stood and walked over to Jack. "Five."

"Five? No, not happening, Cerys."

"Why not? I can fight."

"You're boyfriend needs your help."

"Not my boyfriend. Besides, he has Rose helping him. Look, you need someone else down there."

"Doctor?"

"Let her go. She can handle herself. Not like we could keep her from going."

I tilted my head, giving Jack a smug grin that faded as he glared at me. "If I say run, you hightail it up here as fast as you can. No playing hero, that's my job."

"Alright, Captain Harkness. I need a gun."

"Then let's move it. Into the lift. Isolate the lift controls," Jack ordered. Everyone else walked off besides me although that was because he had grabbed my arm. "I don't know what you're planning Cerys…"

"I'm not planning anything. I need to go help the others." I pulled out of his grip and ran over to the woman, offering whatever aid I could.

Pavale and the woman ran off while Lynda went over to the Doctor. "I just want to say, er, thanks, I suppose, and I'll do my best."

"Me too." After a bit of awkwardness, they shook hands and Lynda backed away and went to the lift, Rose watching her.

Jack and I went over to Rose and the Doctor. "It's been fun, but I guess this is goodbye. I'll keep Cerys safe."

"Don't talk like that. The Doctor's going to do it. You just watch him. And you better."

"Rose, you are worth fighting for." He cupped her face and kissed her, leaving her a bit dazed afterwards. "Wish I'd never met you, Doctor. I was much better off as a coward." He went and kissed him as well.

I quickly hugged Rose and went over to the Doctor. He was looking everywhere but at me. Irritated, I reached up and grabbed his face, moving it so that we were looking at each other. "Thank you for showing me the stars. It's been fun, eh? Do what you have to do, for Rose and the universe, no matter the outcome." I hugged him and planted a quick kiss on his cheek before going over to Jack.

"See you in hell," he smiled as we both walked off, leaving Rose and the Doctor to their task.

We quickly made our way to Floor Zero, hoping to recruit more people to help fight. Jumping on a pile of crates, Jack fired a machine gun in the air to get their attention. "One last time! Any more volunteers? There's an army about to invade this station. I need every last citizen to mount a defence."

"Don't listen to him. There aren't any Daleks. They disappeared thousands of years ago," a black man said.

"Right, and you would know this how? You weren't even born," I snapped at the man. His eyes swivelled to me but he said nothing. Then a woman stepped forward, the programme manager from _The Weakest Link_ came forward. "Thank you."

"As for the rest of you, the Daleks will enter the station at floor four nine four and as far as I can tell, they'll head up, not down. But that's not a promise. So here's a few words of advice. Keep quiet." His gaze was specifically on the man I had snapped at. "And if you hear fighting up above, if you hear us dying, then tell me that the Daleks aren't real. Don't make a sound. Let's go." Jack, Lynda, and I turned and walked towards the elevator with the few volunteers we had.

We all went to Floor 494 and stationed ourselves in a typical defence formation. Jack and I were by the computer in the halls, talking to the Doctor. "Rose, I've called up the internal laser codes. There should be a different number on every screen. Can you read them out to me?"

"She's not here."

I sighed, knowing he had sent her home. He'd done what Jackie and I had asked and I was happy for that, even if I knew she'd be beyond angry at me for plotting something behind her back. "Of all times to take a leak. When she gets back, tell her to read me the codes."

"She's not coming back."

"What do you mean? Where did she go?" he asked confused.

"Just get on with your work."

"You sent her home, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"Why not Cerys?"

"She refused to go. Rose's safety is more important than her own."

Jack glanced at me, a sad expression crossing his face. Reluctantly, he turned back to the screen. "The Delta Wave. Is it ever going to be ready?"

"Tell him the truth, Doctor. There is every possibility the Delta Wave could be complete, but no possibility of refining it. The Delta Wave must kill every living thing in its path with no distinction between human and Dalek. All things will die by your hand."

"Doctor, the range of this transmitter covers the _entire_ Earth."

"You would destroy Daleks and Humans together. If I am God, the creator of all things, then what does that make you, Doctor?"

"There are colonies out there. The Human Race would survive in some shape or form, but you're the only Daleks in existence. The whole Universe is in danger if I let you live. Do you see, Jack? That's the decision I've got to make for every living thing. Die as a human or live as a Dalek. What would you do?"

"You sent her home. She's safe. Keep working. I'm sending Cerys up."

"But he will exterminate you!"

"Never doubted him, never will," Jack stated as if it were an obvious fact.

I faced him, ignoring what the Dalek had said. "What? Why?"

"He needs your help. That's an order."

"I'm not a soldier."

"Cerys, I'm not doubting you're abilities but right now, he needs your help." I grimaced, not at all happy with the development, before I nodded and took off for the lift. When I reached Floor 500, the Doctor was still working on the Delta Wave. I quickly went over to help him, ignoring the look he gave me.

"I should have sent you with her."

"Shut up. Not now."

"You're not safe."

"Stop worrying and help me. Rose is safe. That's all that matters."

He cast me another glance, going to say something but shut his mouth. The station shook, almost throwing me to the floor. "Jack, how're we doing?"

"Four nine five should be good. I like four nine five."

I managed to chuckle a bit. "Lynda! What's happening on Earth?" the Doctor asked.

"The Fleet's descending. They're bombing whole continents. Europa, Pacifica, the New American Alliance. Australasia's just… gone." She was quiet for a moment. During that time, the Doctor and I worked to get the Delta Wave together, listening to the gunshots on the lower floor. With each shot, I flinched a bit, but I kept to my work. "I've got a problem. They've found me."

"You'll be all right, Lynda. That side of the station's reinforced against meteors."

"Hope so! You know what they say about Earth workmanship," she chuckled, scared, before there was the sound of glass breaking and a short scream. I shut my eyes, feeling tears start to well. She didn't deserve to die like that, to be honest, none of the people on the game station did.

"Last man standing! For God's sake, Doctor, finish that thing and kill them!"

"Finish that thing and kill mankind," the Dalek Emperor urged.

"Doctor, Cerys, you've got twenty seconds maximum!"

"Exterminate."

"Yeah, I kind of figured that," I heard Jack say before I heard the Dalek fire. My eyes immediately shut as I held back a sob.

"It's ready!" The Doctor exclaimed as the Daleks entered the room, circling us. We both stood, he held me next to him, his grip tightening around me. "You really want to think about this, because if I activate the signal, every living creature dies."

"I am immortal."

"Do you want to put that to the test?"

"I want to see you become like me. Hail the Doctor, the Great Exterminator."

"I'll do it!" He released me and threw his hands onto the levers, all the while keeping me behind him.

"Then prove yourself, Doctor. What are you, coward or killer?"

The Doctor looked down at me, an unreadable expression on his face before he took my hand and turned back to the screen. "Coward. Any day."

"Mankind will be harvested because of your weakness."

"And what about me? Am I becoming one of your angels?"

"You are the heathen. You will be exterminated."

"Maybe it's time?" He gave my hand a squeeze before closing his eyes. Suddenly the Tardis began to materialize behind us.

"Alert! Tardis materializing!"

"You will not escape!"

The Doctor and I looked at each other confused as the door opened. My confusion turned to worry at the sight of Rose. She was silhouetted in a golden light and energy tendrils snaked around her. "What've you done?"

"I looked into the Tardis, and the Tardis looked into me." Her voice was different, ethereal even, consisting of another layer that added a bit of an echo.

"You looked into the Time Vortex. Rose, no one's meant to see that."

"This is the Abomination!"

"Exterminate!" A Dalek shot at her but she stopped the beam with her hand, her eyes glowing.

"I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself. I take the words, I scatter them in time and space. A message to lead myself here."

"Rose, you've got to stop this. You've got to stop this now. You've got the entire vortex running through your head. You're going to burn."

"I want you safe. My Doctor and my sister. Protected from the false god."

"You cannot hurt me. I am immortal"

"You are tiny. I can see the whole of time and space. Every single atom of your existence, and I divide them." She held up her hand and a Dalek began to slowly disintegrate. "Everything must come to dust. All things. Everything dies. The Time War ends." Then all the Daleks disappeared.

"I will not die. I cannot die!" The spaceship disappeared in a golden wave. I pulled myself from the Doctor's grip, latching onto her. I could feel the energy coursing from her through me.

"Rose, you've done it. Now stop. Just let go."

"How can I let go of this? I bring life."

"Rose, please. It's wrong. You can't control life and death." She looked at me our eyes connecting. Suddenly the energy left her and entered me. As she was released, she collapsed into me. I gently set her onto the floor and turned to face the Doctor. "But _I_ can. The sun and the moon, the day and night. I can see everything, the pain, the suffering, the love. But why do they hurt? It hurts so much." Tears began to fall from my eyes. There was so much pain and I could feel it all.

The Doctor stared at me, frantically thinking. "The power's going to kill you and it's my fault."

"No, it isn't. This is the path I have chosen. I can see it all. All that is, all that was, and that could be."

His eyes widened. "That's what I see. All the time. And doesn't it drive you mad?"

"My head. There's so much pain and my heart, it aches."

"Come here."

I walked over to him, openly crying. "They're killing me."

"I think you need a Doctor," he said as he gently cupped my face in his hands and kissed me. I felt the time energy transfer from me to him. My knees buckled a bit but I was surprisingly able to keep my footing. He let go of me, and blew the energy back into the Tardis, stumbling a bit before he went to pick up Rose. I slowly followed, feeling as if all my energy had been drained.

Once we were inside the Tardis, the doors closed and he set her down. I went to sit in the captain's chair, waiting until Rose came to. When she finally did, I went and helped her up. "What happened?"

I looked away, not sure what to tell her. Luckily, the Doctor stepped in. "Don't you remember?"

"It's like there was this singing."

"That's right. I sang a song and the Daleks ran away."

"I was at home. No, I wasn't, I was in the Tardis, and there was this light. I can't remember anything else-"

I watched as his skin darkened. "Rose Tyler. I was going take you to so many places. Barcelona. Not the city Barcelona, the planet Barcelona. You'd love it. Fantastic place. They've got dogs with no noses." He chuckled. "Imagine how many times a day you end up telling that joke, and it's still funny."

"Then, why can't we go?"

"And Cerys," he said, not answering her question. "I finally figured it out, why you had those nightmares. Oh, the talking we were going to do. I was going to tell you everything, all about her. I was wrong, so wrong. You're more than like her, so much more."

"Why can't we?"

"Maybe you will, and maybe I will. But not like this."

"You're not making sense."

"I might never make sense again. I might have two heads, or no head. Imagine me with no head. And don't say that's an improvement. But it's a bit dodgy, this process. You never know what you're going to end up with-" he doubled over in pain, glowing gold. Rose and I moved to help him.

"Doctor!"

"Stay away!" He backed away from us. I glared at him and took a step towards him. "Cerys..." I took another and another until I was standing directly in front of him, ready to reach out and touch him.

"Doctor, tell us what's going on."

"He absorbed all the energy of the Time Vortex."

"And no one's meant to do that. Every cell in my body's dying."

"Can't you do something?"

"Yeah, I'm doing it now. Time Lords have this little trick, it's sort of a way of cheating death. Except it means I'm going to change, and I'm not going to see you again. Not like this. Not with this daft old face."

"I like that daft old face," I whispered.

He smiled at me. "And before I go-"

"_Don't _say that."

"Rose, before I go, I just want to tell you, you were fantastic. Same goes for you Cerys. As infuriating as you were, you were fantastic." He stopped talking, his eyes boring into mine. I nervously chewed on my lower lip debating for half a second before I grabbed his jacket and kissed him. The kiss was short and frantic and ended just moments after it had started. I backed away afterwards, leaving him with a big grin. "Absolutely fantastic. And do you know what? So was I." A golden light then erupted from him. Rose and I held each other as we watched him change. When the light faded, there was a handsome, younger looking, tall, slim man standing before us. "Hello." He stopped, his face becoming serious as he moved his tongue around his mouth. "Okay. Ooo, new teeth. That's weird. So, where was I?" He stopped, seeming to mull it over for a moment. "Oh, that's right. Barcelona," he said as a toothy grin came to his face.

* * *

_So we have the emergence of 10! This means we are half done with this book. Pertaining to relationships, all I can say is that things will be getting interesting from now on. Not just with the Doctor and Cerys but with Rose as well. Things will be said and feelings hurt. If you think you know what 9 meant in his 'goodbye' monologue, send me a PM letting me know. As I've said before, I love hearing from you guys. _


	18. Born Again

Rose and I stared at him, her in shock, me in amusement, as we watched the man flick switches on the console and checking the monitor. "6 PM...Tuesday…" I moved away from Rose a bit as she inched away from him, concealing herself behind a pillar. "October... 5006... On the way to Barcelona!" He straightened up and looked at us, smiling happily. "Now then... what do I look like?" I started to answer but he stopped me. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. No. Don't tell me." Our eyes met and a moment later, we started to giggle. "Let's see..." He began to examine himself. "Two legs, two arms, two hands..." He took his wrist and circled his hand around it. "Slight weakness in the dorsal tubercle." His hands shot up to his hair and he ruffled it. "Hair! I'm not bald!" I glanced at Rose to see she was slightly taken aback before turning back to him, letting out a short laugh as he played with his hair. "Oh, oh! Big hair!" His hands travelled to his sideburns. "Sideburns, I've got sideburns! Or really bad skin."

"Sideburns. Your skin's fine."

He winked at me before continuing on. "Little bit thinner." He slapped his stomach. "That's weird. Give me time, I'll get used to it." He made noise that I could only assume was good from the excitement in his eyes. "I. Have got. A mole. I can feel it."

"That's great. Where?" I asked, barely noticing Rose's scared expression.

"Between my shoulder blades, there's a mole." He rotated his shoulder. "That's all right. Love the mole." He looked up and grinned at us. "Go on then, tell me." He straightened up completely, waiting for our assessment. "What do you think?"

"Who are you?" Rose tentatively asked.

His face fell. "I'm the Doctor."

She shook her head, not believing him. "No... Where is he? Where's the Doctor?" Her voice rose. "What have you done to him?"

"Rosie, he's the Doctor. We watched him change."

"You saw me, I- I changed..." he motioned his head to the spot where he had changed. "Right in front of you."

"I saw him sort of explode, and then you replaced him, like a... a teleport or a transmat or a body swap or something."

"Come on, Rose. You saw it."

"No. How can you think he's the Doctor? What, now that you kissed him, you know?"

"No, it's what I saw. We saw him change. That light was dim enough for us to see."

She ignored me and walked up to him. When she was at arm's length, she pushed him in the chest. "You're _not_ fooling me." He stood there listening, his expression showing that he was slightly hurt. "I've seen all sorts of things. Nanogenes... Gelth..." She glared at him. "Slitheen..." The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "Oh, my God, are you a Slitheen?"

"I'm _not_ a Slitheen."

"Send him back. I'm warning you; send the Doctor back right now!" she shouted at him.

"Rose, it's me." He leaned closer to her, trying to make her believe him. "Honestly, it's me." She was fuming. "I was dying. To save my own life I changed my body. Every single cell, but... it's still me."

"You _can't_ be."

"Then how do I remember this? Very first time we met, it was at your flat. You were upset with Cerys for not telling you what had happened. She was attacked by a plastic hand controlled by the Nestene Consciousness. When we tried to get it off her, we broke your mum's coffee table. I told you both to forget about me. But you didn't. Not Rose Tyler. She wanted to get to the bottom of Cerys' mystery man. We did so much running. Oh, the running we did, the three of us." Rose glanced at me and I nodded. I could see the tears in her eyes. She slowly turned her attention back to the Doctor.

"Doctor," she whispered.

I watched as he broke out into a grin. "Hello." Rose sighed and stepped back, the weight of everything finally hitting her. She walked over to me and draped an arm around my shoulder while the Doctor returned to the console, flicking switches. "One time we had to hop. Do you remember? Hopping for our lives." He started to hop in his spot. I chuckled a bit but Rose remained stoic. "Yeah? All that hopping? Remember hopping for your life? Yeah?! Hop? With the..." He stopped when he noticed her lack of reaction. "No?"

"Can you change back?"

"Do you want me to?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

"Can you?"

"No." He sounded disappointed, as if he had been rejected. He looked down at the floor. "Do you want to leave?"

"Do you want us to leave?"

"That was for you, Rosie. I'm quite fine with the change."

She glared at me but reworded her question. "Do you want _me_ to leave?"

"No! But... your choice... if you want to go home..." I watched as her face dropped. The Doctor must have noticed it as well since he returned to the console. "Cancel Barcelona. Change to... London... the Powell Estate... ah... let's say the 24th of December." He glanced at her. "Consider it a Christmas present." She edged closer to the console. "There." He took a step back, tucking his arms under his armpits. Rose looked at him and then me and the console. The Tardis shook a bit from the sudden change.

"I'm going home?"

"Up to you. Back to your mum... it's all waiting. Fish and chips, sausage and mash, beans on toast... no, Christmas! Turkey! Although... having met your mother... nut loaf would be more appropriate." I laughed, noticing that Rose looked down to hide her smile.

"Hey Rosie, were you just smiling?"

"No."

"That was a smile…"

"No it wasn't."

"You smiled," I teased.

"No I didn't."

"Oh, come on, all I did was change, I didn't-" He stopped when he started to gag on something as the Tardis continued to shake. Rose gave him a questioning look while I was more worried.

"What?"

"I said I didn't-" It happened again only this time it was more violent and he made a nasty retching noise. I left the captain's seat and went to his side, rubbing his back even though I knew it would do nothing. "Uh oh."

Rose cautiously came over. "Er…are you alright?" A wisp of time energy left the Doctor's mouth. "What's that?"

"Oh, the change is going a bit wrong and all." He gagged, grabbed my arm and fell to his knees, bringing me along with him. His face contorted in pain.

Look... maybe we should go back. Let's go and find Captain Jack, he'd know what to do."

"Gah, he's busy! He's got plenty to do rebuilding the Earth!" He looked up to the console and focused on a specific lever. "I haven't used this one in years," he said as he pulled away from me and flicked it. The Tardis began to shake even more violently and we were nearly knocked off our feet.

"What're you doing?"

"Putting on a bit of speed! That's it!" He began to turn more knobs. I gave up on balancing him and clutched the console with all that I could muster. Rose did the same. "My beautiful ship! Come on, faster! That's a girl!" He sounded like a crazed man. I glanced at him worryingly bud said nothing. "Faster! Wanna to break the time limit?!"

"Doctor!" I exclaimed.

"Stop it!"

"Ah, don't be so dull. Let's have a bit of fun! Let's rip through that vortex!"

"You've lost it!" I yelled as I released my hold on the console and slapped him upside his head. "You're scaring us."

I wasn't sure if it was the slap, my words, or our frightened expression but he finally calmed. "The regeneration's going wrong. I can't stop myself." He grimaced in pain as he slumped forward a bit. "Ah, my head." Almost like flipping a switch, he was back up and all reasoning went out the window. "Faster! Let's open those engines!"

Suddenly a bell rang. "What's that?"

The Doctor moved from me to her. "We're going to crash land!" He sounded too happy for me, laughing manically. I grimaced, no longer enjoying this version of him at the moment.

"Well then, do something!" Rose and I screamed over the bell.

"Too late! Out of control!" he said hysterically before he ran around the console giggling. "Oh, I love it! Hot dawg!" He hopped in the air, clicking his heels.

"You're going to kill us!"

"Hold on tight, here we go!" Rose and my eyes met for a moment before she shut her eyes. I looked over to the Doctor to see he was grinning like a mad man. I groaned and braced myself for impact. "Christmas Eve!"

* * *

_Hello all! So, we finally have TEN. While I was extremely sad to part with NINE, with TEN, we get to see an entirely new dynamic to the Doctor and Cerys' relationship that I think you'll all love. _

_I was so ecstatic to see the reviews for the previous chapter. Like I've said before, I love to hear from you guys. I'm so glad and thankful for your reads and for taking the time to leave a review. It truly means a lot to me. _

_**I'm-a-Klaus-addict:** Great question that I would love to answer but can't. Sorry. But I will say that one of them is pretty close to the answer :)_

_**Setsuna1415:** I can't wait to post school reunion actually. It's definitely one of those defining chapters between the Doctor and Cerys. _

_**NicoleR85:** Rose in School Reunion... all I can say is she will for the most part be Rose ;)_

_Oh, and these were some reviews that just popped up although they were from other chapters. _

_**Hae:** I'm really glad you're enjoying the story and that it actually got you to watch the show. It is... WOW. Yea, the withdrawals are pretty bad but writing Her Secrets helps a bit. With the Slitheen bit, I kind of wanted to add more to her intelligence and awareness. Earlier in the chapter she was able to explain that surfboard (sorry, didn't want to look up the name) and the fact that she had that knowledge made her a threat to Blon, and the hint dropping didn't help much. So, that's basically why I did it that way. It was more like Blon testing her, seeing just how "human" she was, so to speak._


	19. The Christmas Invasion

I rolled to my side after impact, my first instinct being to look for Rose. I found that she was also lying on the floor. Inching towards her, I saw the Doctor jump up and run to the door. I quickly stood and helped Rose up. We both groaned in agitation at the man. To be honest, I wanted to slap him into next Tuesday. "Here we are then, London. Earth. The Solar System. We did it. Jackie. Mickey. Blimey! No, no, no, no, hold on. Wait there. I've got something to say. There was something I had to tell you, something important. What was it? No, hold on, hold on. Hold on, shush, shush, shush, shush. Oh, I know! Merry Christmas!" After hearing a thud, we ran out, finding him lying on the ground.

"What happened? Is he alright?"

"I don't know, he just keeled over. But who is he? Where's the Doctor?"

"The moron's right there." Mickey looked at me confused. "That's him, right in front of you. That's the Doctor."

"What do you mean, 'that's the Doctor'? Doctor who?"

I rolled my eyes at the woman and grabbed the man. With Mickey's help, we got him up to the Tyler flat.

After the trek, Rose and I changed the Doctor into pyjamas and put him into a bed. We stayed in the room silently looking after him. As we stood there, Jackie came in with a stethoscope. "Here we go. Tina the cleaner's got this lodger, a medical student, and she was fast asleep, so I just took it… though I still say we should take him to hospital."

"We can't. They'd lock him up. They'd dissect him. One bottle of his blood could change the future of the human race." Jackie opened her mouth to say something else but Rose cut her off. "No! Shush!" I took it and listened to both of his hearts. "Both working?" I nodded, returning them to Jackie.

"What do you mean _both_?"

"Well, he's got two hearts."

"Oh, don't be stupid."

"He does, Jackie."

"Anything else he's got two of?"

"Leave him alone."

"Both of you stop it, please." I said. They both looked at me sheepishly before leaving the room. I sighed and closed my eyes. Opening them, I watched as another golden wisp leave the Doctor's mouth.

I had been sitting with the Doctor for twenty minutes when Rose came into the room. She checked him again before turning to me. "Mickey and I are going out. You want to come?"

"No, you go," I replied. "I don't have any money."

"You can't stay here all night."

I looked up at her. "Go out with Mickey. Have fun. It's Christmas Eve. I'll stay and keep mum company."

"Alright."

Once Rose had left, I went out to the living room after hearing the doorbell to find Jackie in the living room admiring a new Christmas tree. It looked nice and all but I preferred the white one, the one we grew up with. "Oh, Cerys, look at it. This tree's lovely."

"I liked the other one."

"It was old."

"Well, we've always had it. But…I guess this one's nice too." I replied as I went back to the bedroom. Jackie waved me off and picked up the phone. I smiled; glad that she hadn't changed at all, even with having us travel the universe with an alien.

I relaxed back into the chair, closing my eyes. It had been a while since I'd gotten a proper sleep and I figured a cat nap would do me some good. As I drifted away, I heard Jackie come in, still on the phone. "Oh, no. Don't come round, darling. No, flat's all topsy turvy. Yeah, they just barge in and litter the place. Yeah. No, I'll come round and see you on Boxing Day." I opened an eye and watched as she placed a mug of tea on the nightstand. As she left, I heard the front door open. I jumped up and went to meet Rose and Mickey.

"So, save us a chipolata."

"Get off the phone!" Rose snapped as I watched them curiously.

"It's only Bev. She says hello."

Rose grabbed the phone. "Bev? Yeah. Look, it'll have to wait." She hung up, her demeanour worrying me. "Right, it's not safe. We've got to get out. Where can we go?"

"My mate Stan, he'll put us up."

"That's only two streets away. What about Mo? Where's she living now?"

"What's going on?" I questioned, only to be ignored.

"I don't know. Peak District."

"Well, we'll go to cousin Mo's then."

"No, it's Christmas Eve! We're not going anywhere! What're you babbling about?"

Rose finally brought her attention to the living room. "Mum. Where'd you get that tree? That's a new tree. Where'd you get it?"

"I thought it was you."

"How can it be me?"

"Well, you went shopping. There was a ring at the door, and there it was!"

"No, that wasn't me."

"Then who was it?"

As we stood there, the tree lit up and began to play Jingle Bells. "Oh, you're kidding me." Sections of the tree started to spin, causing a strong wind to build up. It then started to move towards us, taking out the coffee table.

"Get out! Go, go! Get out!" Mickey picked up a chair in an attempt to hold it off as Jackie and Rose ran for the door.

I stayed grounded to my spot, more in shock than anything. Shaking myself out of it, I immediately ran to the bedroom, barely hearing the argument about saving him.

Mickey and Rose ran into the room after me. Jackie stayed out in the hallway. "No, leave him. Just leave him!"

"Get in here!" Mickey yelled to her as the tree came towards us. She ran in and helped Mickey push a wardrobe in front of the door.

Rose ran over, passing me and going straight to the Doctor. I walked to the other side and leant against the table. "Doctor, wake up!"

He remained still. I went into his jacket pocket, pulled out the sonic screwdriver and placing it in his hand. Even as I did so, I couldn't help but feel like I shouldn't have, like he wasn't supposed to wake up. But it was a desperate attempt since the tree had started to break through the door.

"I'm going to get killed by a Christmas tree!" Jackie screamed from the corner.

After watching Rose's failed attempts at waking the Doctor, I bent down until my mouth was to his ear. "Please, help us," I whispered. I quickly moved back as he sat up and aimed it at the tree, causing it to explode. I kept my eyes on him. He still looked a bit ill…well more than a bit.

"Remote control. But who's controlling it?" He got out of the bed, put on a dressing gown and led us outside. Downstairs were three Santas. One was holding a radio controller. After seeing them, I went to lean on the wall, observing once again.

"That's them. What are they?" Mickey asked.

"Shush." The Doctor aimed his sonic at them and the Santas backed from the block, only to beam away a moment later.

"They've just gone. What kind of rubbish were they? I mean, no offence, but they're not much cop if a sonic screwdriver's going to scare them off."

"Pilot fish."

"What?"

"They were just pilot fish." The Doctor grimaced, clearly still in pain. I watched as his back moved up and down rapidly.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked.

"You woke me up too soon. I'm still regenerating. I'm bursting with energy." I looked at the ground guiltily as he exhaled more of the gold wisps. "You see? The pilot fish could smell it a million miles away. So they eliminate the defence, that's you lot, and they carry me off. They could run their batteries on me for a couple of… ow!" He moved to the other wall.

"Oh! Oh! Oh!"

"My head! I'm having a neuron implosion. I need-"

"I need-"

"Say it. Tell me, tell me, tell me."

"I need-"

"Painkillers?"

"I need-"

"Do you need aspirin?"

"I need-"

"Codeine? Paracetamol? Oh, I don't know, Pepto-Bismol?"

"I need-"

"Liquid paraffin. Vitamin C? Vitamin D? Vitamin E?"

"I need-"

"Is it food? Something simple. Bowl of soup. A nice bowl of soup? Soup and a sandwich? Soup and a little ham sandwich?"

"I need you to shut up."

"Oh, he hasn't changed that much, has he?" he moved back beside me.

"We haven't got much time. If there's pilot fish, then... Why's there an apple in my dressing gown?" I choked out a laugh.

"Oh, that's Howard. Sorry."

"He keeps apples in his dressing gown?"

"He gets hungry."

"What, he gets hungry in his sleep?"

"Sometimes."

"Argh!" He fell against the wall beside me. "Brain collapsing. The pilot fish. The pilot fish mean that something, something, something is coming." Then he passed out, his head leaning against my shoulder.

We were able to get him back into bed a short while afterwards. I leaned against the doorframe as Rose wiped his sweat drenched forehead while Mickey went to get his laptop. "Cerys, do you think things are going to be the same?"

"What do you mean?"

"Us three, in the Tardis. You two arguing and me having you make up."

"I don't know. He's the same man but he's still different. Things could change."

"Why did you kiss him?"

"Don't know. It just felt right."

"No, seriously."

I smiled, giving in to her. "I really don't know, Rose. It was stupid really, knowing he had told us to stay away, but I wanted to help him, to make him feel better."

"You just wanted to kiss him. Don't think I haven't noticed how close you two were, almost inseparable, even when you had a row."

"And whose fault is that? You were playing matchmaker."

"Alright. Tell me, was it good? You had two go's at it"

I blushed, recalling the kiss. "Not sure. Maybe I should go for a third when he wakes up," I joked half-heartedly.

"Oi, you. With a face like that, you'll be fighting off all the girls."

"I won't. If he wants someone else then what right do I have to fight her off? He isn't mine. He only kissed me to save my life and I kissed him to offer some comfort."

"Right, I don't think he'd want anyone but you. You might not have noticed, but I have," she said. I rolled my eyes, giving his hand a squeeze before the two of us went to the living room.

"Jackie, I'm using the phone line. Is that all right?"

"Yeah. Keep a count of it. It's midnight. Christmas day. Any change?"

"He's worse. Only one heart's going," I replied as Mickey set up the computer.

Once it was up, he searched the web until he found pilot fish. "Here we go, pilot fish. Scavengers, like the Doctor said. Harmless. They're tiny. But the point is, the little fish swim alongside the big fish."

Rose and I went to him, leaning over his shoulder. "Do you mean like sharks?"

"Great big sharks. So, what the Doctor means is, we had them, now we get that." He pointed to the monitor, showing a shark swimming towards the front of the screen.

"Something's coming."

"How close?" Rose asked.

"There's no way of telling, but the pilot fish don't swim far from their daddy."

"So, it's close?"

Jackie was watching TV. "Funny sort of rocks." Rose and I turned to the television, seeing that the signal was acting out.

"**The first photographs-**"

"That's not rocks."

"**This image is being transmitted via mission control, coming live from the depths of space on Christmas morning.**" A red eyed alien came onto the screen with a bone head. It growled and gurgled before it started saying something I couldn't understand. We jumped back, frightened. "**The face of an alien life form was transmitted live tonight on BBC1.**"

"**On the 25th of December, the human race has been shown absolute proof that alien life exists.**"

"**These remarkable images have been relayed right across the world.**"

"Rose, Cerys. Take a look. I've got access to the military. They're tracking a spaceship. It's big, it's fast, and it's coming this way."

"Coming for what, though? The Doctor?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's coming for all of us."

"No, it's the Doctor. He's still regenerating, remember. He's still expelling those wisps of energy," I quietly stated.

They nodded and Mickey pulled up an image of four aliens. It seemed that UNIT had bigger pictures, although it wasn't a picture but a broadcast. "Have you seen them before?" he asked us.

"No. We don't even understand what they're saying. The Tardis translates alien languages inside your head, all the time, wherever we are."

"So, why isn't it doing it now?"

"I don't know. Must be the Doctor. Like he's part of the circuit, and he's…he's broken."

I stormed outside to get some fresh air. For some reason, the Doctor being sick seemed to affect me more than I thought. Maybe it was because some part of it was my fault, like I could have stopped him from taking in the Time Vortex. I sighed and took in a breath of cold air. I could feel myself calm down a bit. Once I had a handle on my emotions, I went back inside where I heard Rose talking. "The Doctor wouldn't do this. The old Doctor, the proper Doctor, he'd wake up. He'd save us."

Hearing her say that, for give up on him, it angered me. "What don't you get? He _is_ the Doctor, the old Doctor, the proper Doctor! Right now he's sick. We can't depend on him to always save us. Right now, he needs to heal." I could feel the tears start to fall. "Rose, that man has saved our lives so many times. Why can't you just understand the he's the Doctor?"

"You really love him, don't you?" Mickey asked me. I looked away from the pair, trying to keep my tears from falling. Letting out an irritating groan, I turned and walked away, leaving the flat for my own.

I had gone home, sitting in the dark for almost an hour before I heard the door open. "Go away, Rose."

"I'm sorry."

"Okay," I curtly replied.

"Come back over. Please. I don't want you staying by yourself."

"And what if I want to be alone?"

"Then I guess we'll be alone together."

"It doesn't work that way."

"Please Cerys. I'm sorry for what I said. It's just that the man we've travelled with isn't him."

"He said he'd change. It's our fault in the end. You took in the time energy and it transferred into me after I grabbed you. He took it to save us-"

"No, to save _you_. He barely even looks at me. But you, Cerys, his eyes light up when you do anything, even all those times you two argued."

"He did it to save _us_," I stressed before taking in a deep, calming breath. "Look, I'll go back with you."

"But…"

"But you're sleeping on the floor."

"Fine," Rose frowned.

"It wouldn't be the first time and it is your fault."

"How?"

"You and Mickey popped the air mattress." She blushed and walked out of my flat, leaving me laughing as I followed her out.

The ten minute walk was quiet. I walked on autopilot as I thought of the Doctor. He was alive, and that's all that mattered but I couldn't help but worry. There was a nagging feeling in the back of my mind telling me that there was something I could do to help him. I loathed the feeling, it made me feel so useless, thinking I could help when I really couldn't. I sighed, absentmindedly fiddling with my bracelet in order to calm me down. I wanted to lie down, to sleep and wake up with the answer even if I knew it wouldn't happen.

Twenty minutes after reaching the Tyler flat, I went to shower after checking on the Doctor. He was the same, resting less than peacefully. Feeling more worn out than ever, I checked on him one last time before holing myself in Rose's room and falling asleep.

_I sat on the ledge with my feet in the cool water. I had just finished reading a favourite book of mine from Earth, The Castaways of the Flying Dutchman. I thought about it, wishing I could meet the feared Captain Vanderdecken. I wanted to leave and travel the universe. There was only one person who was mad enough to travel with me but he had already left. I was upset with him for leaving me behind but I couldn't blame him. My parents needed me with them and I was a half-breed. He was better off finding someone else to spend his travels with._

_"__Still thinking I'm better off without you?"_

_"__Always."_

_He came and sat beside me, pulling me into a hug. "Stop thinking that. You're all I need."_

_"__You left me again."_

_"__I came back."_

_"__Why?"_

_"__There was a beautiful girl calling out to me," he laughed._

_"__You heard that?"_

_"__I always hear you calling me, Ceryssida."_

_"__You don't always come."_

_"__No. Can't bring the humans."_

_"__Humans? You've gone to Earth without me, haven't you?" I sadly asked as I stood. "That was supposed to be __**our**__ first adventure. You promised."_

_"__It will be. I'd never break a promise to you."_

_"__So, you haven't gone?"_

_"__No. I went to another planet that had humans. They'd never seen Earth."_

_I sat and rested my head on his shoulder. "Why are you really here?"_

_"__I wanted to see you. It's been a while."_

_"__You were going to convince me to go with you… again."_

_"__Yes. We've always talked about going on adventures together."_

_"__But my parents…"_

_"__I know." I looked up to see that his chocolate brown eyes were sad. I wanted to go with him but I had promised my father I wouldn't leave until the time came. Although I didn't know what he meant, I wanted to respect his wishes. "Here, I brought this for you." A thin chain with a small green sea shell on it was placed in my hand._

_I looked up at him with a smile on my face. "Thank you."_

_"__It's from the beaches of Caldovar."_

_"__It's lovely." He took it from my hand and placed it around my neck._

_"__We could go there, you and me. It's beautiful."_

_"__Are you sure visiting the same place twice won't be a bore?"_

_"__With you, __**nothing **__is boring."_

_"__Besides home?"_

_"__Besides home."_

* * *

_So part one of The Christmas Invasion... what did you think? I was going to post it yesterday but I'd gone out the night before and after drinking the night away, my body hated me. I wasn't hungover or anything but my stomach can't take alcohol in general but eh, it's up now :) T__hree reviews on the last chapter, thanks for leaving them. I truly appreciate it (I'm saying that a lot but it's true). They make me all happy and stuff. _

_**NicoleR85:** You'll see when we reach :) But I agree. When I first started out with the series, I loved Rose but her willingness to abandon the people who love her did put me off after a while, especially during TPoW where she told Mickey she had nothing left on Earth and Doomsday was another one that irked me in that regard. _**  
**

_**I'm-a-Klaus-addict:** The big reveal is in a few chapters actually. I didn't want to drag it out too long since I needed her to know before Doomsday. I'm glad you're enjoying the story though. As for Doctor/Rose relationship, it's not going to affect Cerys in the way you may think. Honestly, I don't know who I picture Cerys as. I tend to draw up my own character pictures. But I can look around and give you someone similar by the next chapter. And I don't mind the questions at all, honest. I'm happy to answer them to the best of my ability. _

_**Lizzybug2000:** Thanks. It was definitely shorter than my normal ones but I wanted to have it as a stand alone. I always preferred it that way, although it's sometimes put with TCI. I don't know, that's just my preference :) If you have questions, I can surely give it a try. One might be okay to answer _


	20. When Words Are Said

**_Disclaimer: This chapter contains a triggering scene. Sorry if this bothers anyone. _**

* * *

I sat up, rubbing my eyes, thoroughly surprised I had slept through the night. Getting out of bed, I stretched and looked through the clothes in the closet. When I finally found something of mine, I dressed and went out to the living room where I found Jackie, Rose, and Mickey already up. After a quick good morning, I went and checked on the Doctor. Glad to see he was still breathing, I returned to the living room.

The four of us had been talking for a while when we heard voiced outside. Curious, Rose, Mickey and I went to see what was happening. Outside, people were aimlessly walking towards the stairs. We could see others going along with them trying to snap them out of their daze. "Sandra?" Rose asked.

"He won't listen. He's just walking. He won't stop walking! There's this sort of light thing." She then returned her attention to her husband. "Jason? Stop it right now! Please, Jason, just stop." Looking down, we could see that there were more people walking through the estate. Rose and I worriedly glanced at each other before following them.

"Jason, I'm talking to you! Just stop!" When we reached the rooftop, they stopped at the edge.

"What do we do?" Mickey asked.

"Nothing. There's no one to save us. Not anymore." I grimaced at Rose's words before leading them back inside.

I sat on the couch watching Harriet Jones on the TV with the family and Mickey. "**But, ladies and gentlemen, this crisis is unique, and I'm afraid to say, it might get much worse. I would ask you all to remain calm. But I have one request. Doctor, if you're out there, we need you. I don't know what to do. If you can hear me, Doctor. If anyone knows the Doctor, if anyone can find him, the situation has never been more desperate. Help us. Please, Doctor. Help us. God help us.**"

Rose started to cry at the woman's pleas. "He's gone. The Doctor's gone. He's left us, mum. He's left us, mum."

I abruptly stood and stalked off to the Doctor's room, going to sit at in the corner chair. Tears threatened to fall but I quickly forced them back. I needed to be strong, for both Rose and the Doctor. She still didn't believe that he was the Doctor, that he hadn't left. The man was still around, he was just ill, healing. I took his hand in mine and squeezed it, letting him know he wasn't alone. "She may not believe that you're still here, but I do. You just need rest, to heal…" I sighed. "It's funny. It took you dying for me to realise how much we need you, how much I need you. Please, Doctor, hurry up and get better. It's not the best thing to ask but I don't know what to do. I'm not as smart as you thought, I suppose." As I wiped away a stray tear, I went to rest my head on the bed, the window suddenly shattered, showering the two of us with glass. I jumped up and ran to the living room. "We have to go."

"What the hell was that?"

"Sonic wave probably. We have to get the Doctor out of here."

Rose nodded, swiftly catching on to what I meant. "Mickey, we're going to carry him. Mum, get your stuff, and get some food. We're going."

"Where to?"

"The Tardis," I replied.

"It's the only safe place on Earth."

"What're we going to do in there?"

"Hide."

"Is that it?"

"Mum, look in the sky. There's a great, big, alien invasion and we don't know what to do, all right? We've travelled with him, and we've seen all that stuff, but when we're stuck at home, we're useless. Now, all we can do is run and hide, and I'm sorry. Now, move." She turned from her mum to Mickey. "Oh, lift him up."

While Rose and Mickey carried the Doctor, I helped Jackie as she struggled with the bags. "Mum, will you just leave that stuff and give us a hand?"

"You're the one who told her to get food, Rose."

"And now I'm telling her to leave it!"

"Don't yell at me just because you're scared, Rose. You aren't the only one. Snapping at people won't help the situation. Now, I'm helping her with the food. Hurry up and get him inside."

"Who made you the boss?"

"I could ask you the same." We glared at each other for a bit before she continued to help Mickey carry the Doctor.

When we were all inside, I went to sit in the captain's chair, enjoying the familiarity, the feeling of being home. Rose and Mickey were standing around the console and Jackie was going through a bag. I glanced at the Doctor, making sure that he was breathing. It scared me that he could be dying, even though I didn't want to admit it. I sighed and looked back at Mickey and Rose, tuning into their conversation. "I know, but it's sort of been wiped out of my head, like it's forbidden. Try that again and I think the Universe rips in half."

"Ah, better not, then."

"Maybe not."

"So, what do we do? Just sit here?"

"That's as good as it gets." I rolled my eyes at her. Her attitude was beginning to annoy me, especially since she was giving up so easily.

"Right, here we go. Nice cup of tea," Jackie said as she handed us a cup.

"Mmm, the solution to everything."

"Now, stop your moaning. I'll get the rest of the food." She handed Mickey the thermos and left the Tardis.

"Tea. Like we're having a picnic while the world comes to an end. Very British." Mickey gave a small laugh and then turned to the monitor. "How does this thing work? If it picks up TV, maybe we could see what's going on out there." He began to press buttons. "Maybe we've surrendered. What do you do to it?"

Rose went along, pressing more buttons. "I don't know. It sort of tunes itself."

I stood and went over to them, hitting a few buttons absentmindedly, ultimately turning it on. "Thanks." I nodded and returned to my seat. They were looking at the pattern the screen showed. "Maybe it's a distress signal."

"Are you going to be a misery all the time?"

"A fat lot of good that's going to do," Rose muttered.

"Yes."

"You should look at it from my point of view, stuck in here with your mum's cooking."

Rose looked up, "Where is she? I'd better give her a hand. It might start raining missiles out there."

"Tell her anything from the tin, that's fine."

"Why don't you tell her yourself?"

"I'm not that brave."

"Oh, I don't know," Rose mused before she went outside. Not a second later, she screamed. I jumped up and ran out of the Tardis.

"Rose?" I heard Mickey yell before he ran out after us.

"Get off! Get off me!"

"Mickey, the door!" He quickly turned and closed it before an alien was able to reach it.

The aliens herded us all with Harriet and a young man. "Rose! Cerys! I've got you. My Lord. Oh, my precious things. The Doctor, is he with you?"

"No. We're on our own." I rolled my eyes but it went unnoticed by the two women.

"The yellow girl. She has the clever blue box. Therefore, she speaks for your planet," the man said, translating what the alien said.

"But she can't."

"Yeah, I can."

"Rose…" She glanced at me and turned away.

"Don't you dare."

"Someone's got to be the Doctor."

"They'll kill you," Harriet tried to reason.

"Never stopped him."

"You're being stupid, Rose."

"Do me a favour, Cerys, and shut up. I really don't care what you have to say."

I looked away, grimacing at her, and biting my tongue. "Fine. Your funeral."

She walked forward. "I, er, I address the Sycorax according to Article Fifteen of the Shadow Proclamation. I command you to leave this world with all the authority of the Slitheen Parliament of Raxacoricofallapatorius, and er, the Gelth Confederacy as er, sanctioned by the Mighty Jagrafess and, oh, the Daleks! Now, leave this planet in peace! In… peace."

I choked back a laugh as the aliens chortled openly. "You are very, very funny. And now you're going to die."

"Leave her alone!" Harriet yelled.

"Don't touch her!"

"Leave her alone."

Mickey and Harriet were held back as they moved to shield her. I stood back, watching it all. "Did you think you were clever with your stolen words? We are the Sycorax, we stride the darkness. Next to us you are but a wailing child. If you are the best your planet can offer as a champion-"

"Then your world will be gutted-" I looked up, realizing that I could understand the alien's words. A smile quickly replaced my frown. He was back.

"Then your world will be gutted-"

"And your people enslaved."

The translator looked up from his palm pilot. "Hold on, that's English."

"He's talking English."

"You're talking English."

"Wonderful observations but he's not speaking English," I said only to be ignored.

"I would never dirty my tongue with your primitive bile."

"That's English. Can you hear English?"

"Yeah, that's English."

"Definitely English."

"I speak only Sycoraxic!"

"If I can hear English, then it's being translated," Rose started. "Which means it's working. Which means…" We all turned to the Tardis, waiting for the door to open. When it did, the Doctor stepped out.

"Did you miss me?" The Sycorax cracked his whip but the Doctor caught it and pulled it from the alien's hand. "You could have someone's eye out with that."

"How dare!"

The Doctor took the staff from the Sycorax leader and broke it over his knee. "You just can't get the staff. Now, you, just wait. I'm busy." He pointed at the creature and turned to us. "Mickey, hello! And Harriet Jones MP for Flydale North. Blimey, it's like This Is Your Life. Tea! That's all I needed, a good cup of tea! Superheated infusion of free radicals and tannin. Just the thing for healing the synapses." He turned to Rose and me. "Now, first thing's first. Be honest. How do I look?"

"Er, different."

His eyes drifted to me waiting for my response which was a smile. "Good different or bad different?"

Just different."

"Am I… ginger?"

"No, you're just sort of brown."

He turned striding away a bit. "I wanted to be ginger. I've never been ginger." He turned, pointing his finger at her. "And you, Rose Tyler, fat lot of good you were. Cerys never gave up but you gave up on me." He stopped, thinking about what he had said. "Oh, that's rude. That's the sort of man I am now, am I? Rude. Rude and not ginger." I smirked, holding back a chuckle. He walked over to me, grabbing my face and kissed me with a sense of urgency. I felt a tingle run through my body as the kiss deepened. I placed my arms around his neck, one of my hands running through his hair.

By the time he pulled away, we were both a bit breathless. "Been wanting to do that for a while now." I blushed and averted my eyes since he still had a hold of my face.

"I'm sorry. Who is this?"

He dropped his hands and turned to face Harriet. "I'm the Doctor."

"He's the Doctor."

"But what happened to my Doctor? Or is it a title that's just passed on?"

He walked over to her. "I'm him. I'm literally him. Same man, new face. Well, new everything."

"But you can't be."

"Harriet Jones, we were trapped in Downing Street and the one thing that scared you wasn't the aliens, it wasn't the war, it was the thought of your mother being on her own."

"Oh my God."

"Did you win the election?"

"Landslide majority."

"If I might interrupt."

He turned to the Sycorax leader, crossing his hands behind his back and smiling. "Yes, sorry. Hello, big fellow."

"Who exactly are you?"

"Well, that's the question."

"I demand to know who you are!"

"I. Don't. Know! See, there's the thing. I'm the Doctor, but beyond that, I just don't know. I literally do not know who I am. It's all untested. Am I funny? Am I sarcastic? Sexy?" He turned and winked at me, causing me to smile. "Right old misery? Life and soul? Right handed? Left handed? A gambler? A fighter? A coward? A traitor? A liar? A nervous wreck? I mean, judging by the evidence, I've certainly got a gob." He stopped walking. "And how am I going to react when I see this, a great big threatening button." He ran up the stairs and stood in front of a stand that held the button. "A great big threatening button which must not be pressed under any circumstances, am I right? Let me guess. It's some sort of control matrix, hmm? Hold on, what's feeding it?" He bent down and opened the base. "And what've we got here? Blood? Yeah, definitely blood." He placed a finger in and tasted it. I grimaced a bit. "Human blood. A Positive, with just a dash of iron." He rubbed his finger on the dressing gown. "Ah, but that means blood control. Blood control! Oh, I haven't seen blood control for years. You're controlling all the A Positives." The Sycorax leader hissed. "Which leaves us with a great big stinking problem. Because I really don't know who I am. I don't know when to stop. So if I see a great big threatening button which should never, ever, ever be pressed, then I just want to do this." He slammed his hand onto the button.

"No!" the four beside me yelled.

"You killed them!"

"What do you think, big fellow? Are they dead?"

"We allow them to live."

"Allow? You've no choice. I mean, that's all blood control is. A cheap bit of voodoo. Scares the pants off you, but that's as far as it goes. It's like hypnosis. You can hypnotise someone to walk like a chicken or sing like Elvis. You can't hypnotize them to death. Survival instinct's too strong."

"Blood control was just one form of conquest. I can summon the armada and take this world by force."

"Well, yeah, you could, yeah, you could do that, of course you could. But why? Look at these people. These human beings. Consider their potential. From the day they arrive on the planet and blinking step into the sun, there is more to see than can ever be seen. More to do than-"

"That's the Lion King, Doctor," I said.

"Thanks, dear. Sorry but the point still stands. Leave them alone!"

"Or what?"

"Or," he started, pulling a sword from one of the Sycorax's sheath and running back towards the Tardis. "I challenge you." The aliens laughed. "Oh, that struck a chord. Am I right that the sanctified rules of combat still apply?"

"You stand as this world's champion."

"Thank you. I've no idea who I am, but you just summed me up." He took off his dressing gown and tossed it to me. "So, you accept my challenge? Or are you just a cranak pel casacree salvak?"

The two knelt. "For the planet?" the leader asked, agreeing after whatever the Doctor said to him.

"For the planet."

The two went for each other, their swords clashing. The leader swung his sword, almost striking the Doctor.

"Look out!" Rose yelled.

"Oh, yeah, that helps. Wouldn't have thought of that otherwise, thanks." I continued watching the pair. It was obvious that the Sycorax leader was more experienced with a sword than the Doctor and while I was a bit worried but I knew he could handle himself. The Doctor backed up, running through a tunnel, pushing a button that opened a door, with the leader following. "Bit of fresh air?"

We followed them to the hull, watching as the Doctor was pushed to the edge and then hit in the face. I frowned. He had just gotten that face and it was a nice looking one at that. Rose made a move towards them and I rolled my eyes. It had to be her to try to do something unnecessary. "Stay back! Invalidate the challenge and he wins the planet." She stopped and stayed where she was and the two charged towards each other. The leader hit the Doctor, knocking him down and swiped at his hand, cutting the right one off. I watched as both the hand and sword fell. "You cut my hand off."

"Ya! Sy-cor-ax!"

"And now I know what sort of man I am. I'm lucky. Because quite by chance I'm still within the first fifteen hours of my regeneration cycle, which means I've got just enough residual cellular energy to do this." He held his arm up and grew a new hand. I stared at him, impressed.

"Witchcraft."

"Time Lord."

"Doctor!" Rose yelled as she threw him another sword which he expertly spun in his hand after catching it.

"Oh, so I'm still the Doctor, then?"

"No arguments from me!"

"Want to know the best bit? This new hand? It's a fighting hand!" he said, taking a Texan accent. They started to fight again, this time the Doctor having the upper hand. He disarmed the Sycorax leader and hit him in the abdomen twice with the hilt of his sword. The alien fell on the edge, half his body hanging over the side with the edge of the sword to his neck. "I win."

"Then kill me."

"I'll spare your life if you'll take this Champion's command. Leave this planet, and never return. What do you say?"

"Yes."

"Swear on the blood of your species."

"I swear."

"There we are, then. Thanks for that. Cheers, big fellow." He tossed the sword to the side and walked over to us.

"Bravo!"

"That says it all. Bravo!" Rose said, running to him.

"Ah, not bad for a man in his jim-jams." I helped him put on the dressing gown. Once on, he draped an arm around my shoulder. "Very Arthur Dent. Now, there was a nice man. Hold on, what have I got in here?" He reached into the dressing gown's pocket. "A satsuma. Ah, that friend of your mother's. He does like his snacks doesn't he? But doesn't that just sum up Christmas? You go through all those presents and right at the end, tucked away at the bottom, there's always one stupid old satsuma. Who wants a satsuma?" He suddenly threw the Satsuma at a control. I turned to see the Sycorax leader fall through the opening. The Doctor turned me back around, keeping his arm on me. "No second chances. I'm that sort of a man."

We walked back into the spaceship. The Doctor had taken his arm from my shoulder and was holding my hand. Rose, Mickey, Harriet and the translator followed behind us. "By the ancient rites of combat, I forbid you to scavenge here for the rest of time. And when go you back to the stars and tell others of this planet, when you tell them of its riches, its people, its potential. When you talk of the Earth, then make sure that you tell them this. It. Is. Defended." With that said, we were all beamed back to the ground.

"Where are we?" Rose asked.

"We're just off Bloxom Road. We're just round the corner, we did it!"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," the Doctor said, waiting until the spaceship flew away.

"Go on, my son! Oh, yeah!" Mickey whooped.

Rose jumped onto his back. "Yeah! Don't come back!"

"It is defended!" Rose and Mickey hugged and then Rose went to hug the translator. The Doctor and I watched it from the side-lines.

"My Doctor." Harriet said as she came over to us.

"Prime Minister. He released me as they hugged. Pulling away, he intertwined our hands again.

"Absolutely the same man. Are there many more out there?"

"Oh, not just Sycorax. Hundreds of species. Thousands of them. And the human race is drawing attention to itself. Every day you're sending out probes and messages and signals. This planet's so noisy. You're getting noticed more and more. You'd better get used to it."

"Rose! Cerys!"

"Mum!"

"Oh, talking of trouble." I smiled at him before pulling the Doctor over to her.

I let go of his hand and hugged her. "Oh, my God! You did it, girls. Oh!"

"You did it too! It was the tea. Fixed his head."

"That was all I needed, cup of tea."

"I said so."

"Look at him."

"Is it him, though? Is it really the Doctor?" she asked before she turned her attention to behind us. "Oh, my God, it's the bleeding Prime Minister!"

"Come here, you." I stood aside as the four of them had a group hug. When they separated, he gave me a confused glance. I shrugged before looking away. He took my hand in his again.

"Are you better?"

"I am, yeah."

Jackie turned to Rose, Mickey, and me. "You left me."

"I'm sorry."

"I had all the food." As I was giving her another apology, five green beams shot through the sky, hitting and destroying the Sycorax ship.

"What is that? What's happening?"

The Doctor turned around and stalked over to Harriet, pulling me with him. "That was murder."

"That was defence. It's adapted from alien technology. A ship that fell to Earth ten years ago."

"They were leaving though," I told her.

She glanced at me and turned her attention to the Doctor. "You said yourself, Doctor, they'd go back to the stars and tell others about the Earth. I'm sorry, Doctor, but you're not here all the time. You come and go. It happened today. Mister Llewellyn and the Major, they were murdered. They died right in front of me while you were sleeping. In which case, we have to defend ourselves."

"Britain's Golden Age," he spat.

"It comes with a price."

"I gave them the wrong warning. I should've told them to run as fast as they can. Run and hide because the monsters are coming. The human race."

"Those are the people I represent. I did it on their behalf."

"Then I should have stopped you."

"What does that make you, Doctor? Another alien threat?"

I squeezed his hand. "Don't challenge me, Harriet Jones, because I'm a completely new man. I could bring down your Government with a single word."

"You're the most remarkable man I've ever met, but I don't think you're quite capable of that."

"No, you're right. Not a single word… just six."

"I don't think so."

"Six words."

"Stop it!"

"Six." He released my hand and walked over to the translator. After whispering something in his ear, he grabbed my hand and we walked over to the others, all of us walking away. We could hear Harriet asking what he had said as well as her apology. I sighed, knowing the day was not over yet.

I sat on my bed in the Tardis as the Doctor looked for something to wear. I wanted to talk to Rose about what had happened but knowing she was still upset, I knew she would continue to ignore me. I wasn't sorry since I had nothing to be sorry about but the things she said, the way she had acted, it still hurt. We rarely had rows and the ones we had were often over thirty minutes later, with us joking around and laughing. This one was different. Something had changed between us and I didn't know what it was.

Deep in thought, I barely heard the knock on the door. Thinking it was just a random noise, I jumped, a bit startled, when the door cracked open and the Doctor poked his head in. "Ready?"

"You go on. I'm not going."

"They're your family."

"No, it's Rose's family. I was just the stray cat they felt sorry for."

"You don't really believe that?" I looked away. "Cerys, they love you."

"I'm sure… It doesn't matter. You go and have fun. It's Christmas."

"I can't have fun without you."

"You have Rose."

"I don't want Rose," he fiercely stated before he softened his voice. "I want you to come."

"Why? Why me?! What, do you feel sorry for me too? Are you just being nice because I didn't give up on you, that I tried to convince Rose you were still you? Is that why you…" The tears I tried to hold in fell. "Why you kissed me?" He looked away. "You don't want me. You want the person I remind you of. I don't blame you; she was probably extraordinary, perfect." I took in a breath. "Please… just stop pretending you care about me." He nodded, not looking at me and left the room. Once the door was closed, I broke down, allowing the sobs that I had stifled to escape.

As I cried, I reached under my mattress, the place I hid it after the library incident, searching for the blue pill bottle. When I found it, I unscrewed the cap and dug for a blade. With one in my hand, I replace the cap and bottle and locked myself in the bathroom. After removing my jeans, I pressed the blade to my already scarred left thigh. I gently ran it across my skin, enjoying the coolness of the blade before I went for the first tear.

I continued to rip at my skin, ignoring the slight sting each time I hit a fresh cut. I didn't want to feel anything anymore. I didn't want to cry anymore. The thought of downing my collection of pills came to mind but I ignore it, not ready to deal with the emotional baggage that came with failure. Cutting would do until the time when I was ready arrived. Feeling weak, I added more cuts. I stopped a while later, when the front of my thigh was no longer visible due to the blood. Examining them, I sighed. I'd cut deeper than I had in a while. Slowly standing, I went through the cabinet looking for gauze, antibacterial paste, and something to wrap my leg with. When I had found it all, I took a bath, careful when cleaning my thigh. Once finished, I added the paste, gauze and wrap before putting on sweatpants and an oversized hoodie and returning the razor blade to its bottle. Emotionally and mentally exhausted, I collapsed into my bed, letting sleep take me.

* * *

_Hey all. Thanks for sticking around. I was going to post in the morning before my flight (I'm heading to Miami for the summer ^.^) but I figured I could do a chapter tonight AND tomorrow morning (hopefully) since I might end up straying from my set schedule. But, we'll see. _

_Honestly, this was a pretty rough ending to write... kinda triggered me haha but I pulled through it. Anyways, as I wrote the final scene, I felt kind of bad for both Cerys and the Doctor... and then I made the Doctor awesome again. I know he isn't one for admitting his feelings, but I really wanted him to be different with Cerys without making him too out of character and I hope I accomplished that. _

_And onto the reviews. Thanks again for them. Like I've said from the start, they are extremely appreciated. _

_**Lizzybug2000:** Love that you're loving the story. And I'm definitely the same when it comes to seeing how everyone does their OCs. As for your question... I can say that Old Who is in the works with the half-breed thing. Think humanoid inhabitants of Skaro... both. The specifics will be brought up in later chapter but if you go on the Tardis Wiki page thing... you'll find the answer ;)_

_**EmmieRaeJean:** Welcome to the story :) I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it and that you like Cerys. She's honestly one of my favourite characters I've created in a long while. If you've figured it out, PM me. I'll let you know just how close you are to the answer. The Girl in the Fireplace episode will most definitely be one of the eventful ones. It actually starts a domino effect but I can't say more. _

_**I'm-a-Klaus-addict:** Hopefully you didn't get caught. Yeah, similar names and it might be a nickname but then again, it just might be coincidence. Then again, the Doctor has said never to ignore coincidences unless you're busy ;) I'm glad you're excited and I promise the big reveal will be in The Idiot's Lantern episode. _


	21. New Earth

"_Enough of this! Do as I command!"_

_"__No." A switch was flipped and electricity coursed through her body. She grimaced but remained silent. This wasn't the first time she had gone through this treatment. _

_"__Everyone you love is dead. He has left you."_

_"__I'd rather die."_

_"__So be it."_

_The man came over and grabbed the girl by her neck and lifted her up. She struggled in his grip, kicking and clawing at him, but he only squeezed tighter. Just as she began to lose consciousness, he dropped her. Looking up at him, she saw a maniacal grin on his face. She tried to inch away but he grabbed her, placing his heavy figure atop her. _

_"__Let me go." His grip on her tightened._

_"__You've been a loose end for far too long. It is time you are dealt with." _

_"__Let me go! Please just let me go!" He ignored her cries. Removing the rags she had for clothing, he took what belonged to her soul mate, defiling her until she was just a shell. He had won. He'd finally broken her._

I screamed as I awoke, feeling the pain the girl had. Throwing my hand over my mouth to quiet myself, I rocked back and forth, holding my legs to my chest. She had been tortured into submission by men who seemed to be in charge wherever she lived. I held back another sob. The man knew what he was doing, that she had given her soul to another man and yet he continued. There was a sense of dread that overwhelmed me, that told the ending was not a happy one.

When the crying had stopped, I went to the bathroom and splashed cold water onto my face. I ignored the red splotches on my forehead and the dark circles under my eyes. Leaving the bathroom and putting on a pair of Chuck Taylors, I went out to the library.

Finding a book, I sat in my usual spot. Try as I might, I was unable to concentrate and ended reading the same page four times. I couldn't stop thinking about the girl. I wanted to ask the Doctor about her but after what I had said to him, I was somewhat surprised he hadn't told me to leave. It must have hurt him to hear me say that, just as it hurt me to say those words. I couldn't deny the way I felt, even with the tiffs we had. It would be my fault if he asked me to leave, just like it was my fault he died.

I placed the book off to the side and laid down, allowing the thoughts to envelope me. It was my fault; everything bad that involved me was my fault. More tears poured from my eyes. Maybe that girl should be here and I gone. He would probably like that. It was probably a mistake, me coming along. Maybe if I had been left behind with Jackie, things would be different. Standing up, I walked the console room. I was going to become an observer again, something I was good at. I didn't want to upset anyone further and no one would really care about what I had to say.

Rose and the Doctor were talking about where to go next when I entered the room. The Doctor looked over but hastily returned his gaze to Rose, who didn't even acknowledge me. I went and sat in the captain's chair, feeling the tension that surrounded us. Looking everywhere but at them, I thought of how much I missed Jack's ability to ease the friction that arose between us; actually, I missed Jack in general.

Deep in my thoughts, I didn't notice the Tardis had landed until I heard the door close and an angry hum from the Tardis. Getting up, I left the ship, ignoring the hurt that came from being overlooked. Once outside, I leaned against the Tardis as the Doctor explained where we were. "…Five billion and twenty three. We're in the galaxy M87, and this? This is New Earth."

"That's just. That's just…"

"Not bad. Not bad at all."

"That's amazing. I'll never get used to this. Never. Different ground beneath my feet," Rose jumped up and down, "different sky. What's that smell?"

He bent down, snatching up some blades of grass. "Apple grass."

Rose smiled inhaling the sweet scent that wafted around us. "Apple grass."

"Yeah, yeah."

"It's beautiful. Oh, I love this. Can I just say, travelling with you, I love it."

"Me too. Come on." I watched as they ran off, and the Doctor took off his coat. They both sat on it, relaxing and watching the cars flying around the city. "So, the year five billion, the sun expands, the Earth gets roasted."

"That was our first date," Rose said. I grimaced at her statement but took a breath, not understanding why I was upset. He wasn't mine and he wouldn't be.

The Doctor leaned his head back, his eyes on me. "We had chips." He looked away, turning his attention back to Rose. "So anyway, planet gone, all rocks and dust, but the human race lives on, spread out across the stars. Soon as the Earth burns up, oh yeah, they get all nostalgic, big revival movement, but then find this place. Same size as the Earth, same air, same orbit. Lovely. Call goes out, the humans move in."

"What's the city called?"

"New New York."

"Oh, come on."

"It is. It's the city of New New York. Strictly speaking, it's the fifteenth New York since the original, so that makes it New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York." I managed a small smile as I stared at the city. He was different from his previous self, a more relaxed and somewhat carefree. It was nice to see him that way. "What?" I looked at them, dropping my smile. It took me a second to realize he was talking to Rose.

"You're _so_ different."

"New New Doctor."

"Can we go and visit New New York, so good they named it twice?"

"Well, I thought we might go there first." He pointed at two curved skyscrapers that stood on the opposite side of the river. It had a green moon on the side of it, something that spiked my curiosity.

"Why, what is it?"

"Some sort of hospital. Green moon on the side. That's the universal symbol for hospitals. I got this. A message on the psychic paper." He showed it to her. Being too far away, I couldn't see what was written on it. "Someone wants to see me."

The two of them stood and the Doctor picked up his coat and put it on. "Hmm. And I thought we were here just sight-seeing. Come on, then. Let's go and buy some grapes." I silently pushed myself off the Tardis and followed them as they walked towards the hospital.

Once inside, I looked around, taking in the massive area. The Doctor was telling Rose of his aversion to hospitals. "Bit rich coming from you."

"I can't help it. I don't like hospitals. They give me the creeps."

"**The Pleasure Gardens will now take visitors carrying green or blue identification cards for the next fifteen minutes. Visitors are reminded that cuttings from the gardens are not permitted.**"

"Very smart. Not exactly NHS."

The Doctor looked around and frowned. "No shop. I like the little shop."

"I thought this far in the future, they'd have cured everything."

I smiled bit after once I saw that all the nurses seemed to be cats. I was a bit suspicious, having nonhuman creatures treating humans, but if they were doing a good job, then who was I to judge. "The human race moves on, but so do the viruses. It's an ongoing war."

Rose also seemed to notice their appearance. "They're cats."

"Now, don't stare. Think what you look like to them, all pink and yellow." He pointed to an empty spot, his attention shifting from her. "That's where I'd put the shop. Right there." I rolled my eyes and watched them walk off to the lifts. When it opened, they went in. "Ward 26, thanks."

As I walked over, the door started to close. I sighed and pushed the button for the next one. "Ward 26 please and thanks," I said as I walked in. The door closed and almost immediately, I knew something was wrong, my suspicions confirmed when the lift went down instead of up.

"**Commence stage one disinfection.**" I jumped a little as the cold water hit me. Once that was over, came the drying off. As the warm air hit me, I ran my fingers through my hair, wishing I had some anti-frizz and removed my leather jacket and flapped it, allowing the air to dry it off. When the lift opened, a pale man with cheetah spots met me in the corridor.

"The human child is clean."

"I take it this isn't Ward 26."

"This way, Cerys."

I followed the man, walking through a plastic curtain and found a movie playing that showed a party. In it, the main focus was on a woman with shoulder length blonde hair wearing a sparkling silver, floor length gown, and diamond earrings, with a glass of champagne in her hand. "I mean, you never know what your life is going to be like, ever. I'm bored with this drink. Anyway. Oh, hello darling! Now, don't. Stop it."

"Cassandra," I snared as I recognized the voice.

"Peekaboo!"

"You're the one who brought me down here, well your, er, friend."

"Oh, that's Chip. He's my pet."

"Your pet?"

"I worship the mistress."

"Moisturize me, moisturize me." He sprayed her. "He's not even a proper life form. He's a force grown clone. I modelled him on my favourite pattern. But he's so faithful. Chip sees to my physical needs."

"Right. How come you're still alive?"

"After you murdered me-"

"That was your own doing. You killed people." She rolled her eyes.

"The brain of my mistress survived. And her pretty blue eyes were salvaged from the bin."

"So the skin, I'm guessing you're talking out of your-"

"Ask not."

"I wasn't asking. I'm not surprised though."

"The mistress was lucky to survive. Chip secreted m'lady into the hospital."

"Figured they wouldn't know of your presence."

"Chip steals medicine. Helps m'lady. Soothes her, strokes her." He gently caressed Cassandra.

"That's nice but I really don't care."

"But I'm so alone, hidden down here. The last Human in existence."

"Oh, shut up. You are _not_ the last human. That's New Earth out there."

"A vegetable patch."

"There're millions of humans out there."

"Mutant stock."

"Would you really like to get into that again? They've evolved and in the end, it's about the survival of the species. If anything, you're the mutant. You don't even look human. All you've done was remain in the past, preserving yourself."

"Oh, I remember that night. Drinks for the Ambassador of Thrace. That was the last time anyone told me I was beautiful. After that it all became such hard work."

"I'm sure. One thing I will say is that you have a certain knack for survival."

"But I've not been idle, Cerys, tucked away underneath this hospital. I've been listening. The Sisters are hiding something."

"I'm quite sure."

"Oh these cats have secrets. Hush, let me whisper. Come close."

"No way in hell," I said as I backed away. Before I could move any further, energy tendrils latched onto my arms, holding me in my spot."

"Chip, activate the psychograft."

"Let go of me, Cassandra. What are you planning?" Light streamed down onto me.

"The lady's moving on. It's goodbye trampoline, and hello gorgeous." There was a whoosh of energy between us and everything turned off. I then collapsed, or at least my body did. It felt strange, being in my body but not being in control of it. I could still hear and see, even if I couldn't access my motor and speech systems.

"Mistress?"

"Moisturise me. How bizarre. Arms, fingers, hair! Let me see! Let me see! Oh my God. I'm a chav!" My hands danced over my body. "Look at me. From class to brass. Although, oh, curves. Oh, baby, it's like living inside a bouncy castle!"

"The mistress is beautiful."

"Absolutement! Oh, but look." I saw that the equipment that had been keeping Cassandra alive was fried.

"Oh, the brain lead expired. My old mistress is gone."

"But safe and sound in here." My finger tapped my head.

"But what of the Cerys child's mind?"

"Oh, tucked away. She can still see and hear though. I can just about access the surface memory. She's... Gosh, she's with Rose Tyler and the Doctor. A man. He's the Doctor. The same Doctor with a new face. That hypocrite! I must get the name of his surgeon. I could do with a little work. Although nice rear bumper. Hmm."

"This Doctor man is dangerous."

"Dangerous and clever. I might need a mind like his. The Sisterhood is up to something. Remember that Old Earth saying, never trust a Nun? Never trust a Nurse. And never trust a cat. Perfume?" She tucked the small glass bottle down the front of my shirt."

Cassandra made her way to ward 26 and walked over to the Doctor. "There you are. Come and look at this patient. I was just telling Rose that it was Marconi's Disease. Should take years to recover. Two days. I've never seen anything like it. They've invented a cell washing cascade. It's amazing. Their medical science is way advanced. And this one." He pointed to a man who was sheet paper white. "Pallidome Pancrosis. Kills you in ten minutes, and he's fine. I need to find a terminal. I've got to see how they do this. Because if they've got the best medicine in the world, then why is it such a secret?"

"I can't Adam and Eve it."

"You alright?"

"Yes. Just larking about. New Earth, new me."

"Well, I can talk. New New Doctor." A part of my heart clenched when he didn't realize that I wasn't me.

"Mmm, aren't you just." I watched as I grabbed him and forcefully pressed my lips against his, my hands in his hair. "Terminal's this way. Phew." She walked away, leaving the Doctor and Rose behind.

"Yep, still got it."

We were standing at the computer terminal by the lifts. The Doctor was searching for something. "Nope, nothing odd. Surgery, post-op, nano-dentistry. No sign of a shop. They should have a shop."

"No, it's missing something else. When I was downstairs, those Nurse Cat Nuns were talking about Intensive Care. Where is it?"

"You're right. Well done." I saw Rose roll her eyes at me.

"Why would they hide a whole department? It's got to be there somewhere. Search the sub-frame."

"What if the sub-frame's locked?"

"Try the installation protocol."

"Yeah. Of course. Sorry. Hold on." He used the sonic on the interface. A moment later, a wall slid up and revealed a door. "Intensive Care. Certainly looks intensive."

I led the way down the staircase. The walls were lined with cells that emitted a green light. The Doctor randomly opened one to show an extremely ill man. "That's disgusting. What's wrong with him?" If that didn't alert the Doctor that I wasn't me, then it was obvious I meant nothing to him, at least to me, and if that were the case, I'd ask him to bring me home.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Doctor, what's wrong with them?" Rose asked as he closed it and opened another one.

"What disease is that?"

"All of them. Every single disease in the galaxy. They've been infected with everything."

"What about us? Are we safe?"

"The air's sterile. Just don't touch them." He closed the door.

"How many patients are there?"

"They're not patients."

"But they're sick."

"They were born sick. They're meant to be sick. They exist to be sick. Lab rats. No wonder the Sisters have got a cure for everything. They've built the ultimate research laboratory. A human farm," he explained to Rose.

"Why don't they just die?" Cassandra asked.

"Plague carriers. The last to go."

"It's for the greater cause."

"Novice Hame, when you took your vows, did you agree to this?"

"The Sisterhood has sworn to help."

"What, by killing?"

"But they're not real people. They're specially grown. They have no proper existence."

"What's the turnover, hmm? Thousand a day? Thousand the next? Thousand the next? How many thousands? For how many years? How many!"

"Mankind needed us. They came to this planet with so many illnesses. We couldn't cope. We did try. We tried everything. We tried using clone-meat and bio-cattle, but the results were too slow, so the Sisterhood grew its own flesh. That's all they are. Flesh."

"These people are alive."

"But think of those Humans out there, healthy and happy, because of us."

"If they live because of this, then life is worthless."

"But who are you to decide that?"

"I'm the Doctor. And if you don't like it, if you want to take it to a higher authority, then there isn't one. It stops with me."

"Just to confirm. None of the humans in the city actually know about this?" Cassandra asked.

"We thought it best not."

"Hold on. I can understand the bodies. I can understand your vows. One thing I can't understand. What have you done to Cerys?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"And I'm being very, very calm. You want to be aware of that. Very, very calm. And the only reason I'm being so very, very calm is that the brain is a delicate thing. Whatever you've done to Cery's head, I want it reversed."

"We haven't done anything."

"I'm perfectly fine."

"These people are dying, and no matter how upset she was, my Cerys would still care about people. She would have given Novice Hame a mouthful for the things she'd said."

"Oh, all right, clever clogs. Smarty pants. Lady-killer."

"What's happened to you?"

"I knew something was going on in this hospital, but I needed this body and your mind to find it out."

"Who are you?"

"The last human."

"Cassandra?" Rose asked in shock.

"Wake up and smell the perfume," she said as she sprayed both Rose and the Doctor. The both fell to the floor, passed out.

"You've hurt him. I don't understand. I'll have to fetch Matron."

"You do that, because I want to see her. Now, run along. Sound the alarm!" Cassandra pulled out a power cable and set off the alarm as Hame ran back to the main hospital as Chip helped me drag Rose and the Doctor into an empty cell.

The Doctor came around first. I watched as he checked on Rose before turning his attention to Cassandra. "Let me out! Let me out!"

"Aren't you lucky there was a spare? Standing room only."

"You've stolen Cerys' body."

"Over the years, I've thought of a thousand ways to kill you, Doctor. And now, that's exactly what I've got. One thousand diseases. They pump the patients with a top-up every ten minutes. You've got about three minutes left. Enjoy."

"Just let Cerys go, Cassandra."

"I will. As soon as I've found someone younger, and less common, then I'll junk her with the waste."

"She more than common."

"Now, now hushaby. It's show-time."

"Anything we can do to help?"

"Straight to the point, Whiskers. I want money."

"The Sisterhood is a charity. We don't give money. We only accept."

"The humans across the water pay you a fortune, and that's exactly what I need. A one-off payment, that's all I want. Oh, and perhaps a yacht. In return for which, I shall tell the city nothing of your institutional murder. Is that a deal?"

"I'm afraid not."

"I'd really advise you to think about this."

"Oh, there's no need. I have to decline."

"I'll tell them, and you've no way of stopping me. You're not exactly Nuns with Guns. You're not even armed."

"Who needs arms when we have claws?" Matron Casp asked as she unsheathed her claws.

"Well nice try. Chip? Plan B." Chip pulled a lever and all the doors on our level opened. The Doctor and Rose stepped out amongst the dazed and diseased.

"What have you done?" the Doctor barked.

"Gave the system a shot of adrenaline, just to wake them up. See you!" I watched as Cassandra brought my legs to a run with Chip following closely behind.

I watched as all the other doors opened. "Oh my God."

"What the hell have you done?"

"It wasn't me."

"One touch and you get every disease in the world, and I want that body safe, Cassandra. We've got to go down."

"But there's thousands of them." It came out as a whine.

"Run! Down! Down! Go down!" I ran down the flight of stairs with the Doctor continuous commands. "Keep going! Go down!" I ran to the lift and pressed the button when we reached the basement. "No, the lifts have closed down. That's the quarantine. Nothing's moving."

"This way!" Cassandra led the Doctor to where she had hidden with Chip. As we all ran, Chip was separated from us by a wall of infected.

"We have to help him."

"Someone will touch him, Rose."

"Leave him! He's just a clone thing. He's only got a half-life. Come on!"

"Mistress! My mistress!"

"I'm sorry, I can't let her escape."

* * *

_Yeah, so I definitely made it be Cerys Cassandra invaded. That was mainly due to the fact she was the main one who spoke to the bitchy trampoline in The End of the World. Sorry for not updating yesterday though. I got to Miami and ended up spending a lot of time with family... since it was my first day back and all. But it's now posted, just after I woke up because I just love you guys so much. Uh, that's all I have to say so onto the reviews... which I so very appreciate. _

_**Lizzybug2000:** That is just the beginning of it all. And while it is unfortunate, it'll get a lot better. New Earth will definitely be something ;3 _

_**dream lighting:** Welcome to the story and thanks for commenting. It does suck for Cerys... considering the slightly strained relationship she and the Doctor had and that she's basically starting the new relationship on the wrong foot, but I kind of had to put Rose in as I did. It'll be explained in Tooth and Claw._

_**I'm-a-Klaus-addict:** Aww, I'm sorry but you'll be with your Grandmother, which could be fun. Glad to hear you didn't get caught and that you normally don't. Yeah, I'm actually in university so I've been out for a while. As for the cutting, I understand. I can say the there are a few reasons people cut. Honestly, just being there is a great comfort. :) It was one of the hardest parts to write since I have a history of it and it slightly triggered me. But the kiss was something that will definitely be brought up in a later chapter. The relationship between Rose and Cerys will be rocky for a bit meaning little to no help for Cerys. As for how long Cerys will be with the Doctor... that's a question that'll be answered when the time comes ;] And no problem about the jumping around. _


	22. The Brain is Extremely Sensitive

We left with him screaming out for Cassandra. My legs moved my body to a back door. Opening it, I saw that the other side was more infected. "We're trapped! What am I going to do?"

"Well, for starters, you're going to leave that body. That psychograft is banned on every civilized planet. You're compressing Cerys to death."

"But I've got nowhere to go. My original skin's dead."

"Not my problem. You can float as atoms in the air. Now, get out." He pointed the sonic at me. "Give her back to me."

"You asked for it." I felt air enter my lungs and her leave.

I stumbled back a bit, grabbing my head. "Ouch. Where is she?"

"Oh, my. This is different."

"Cassandra?" Rose asked.

"Goodness me, I'm a man. Yum. So many parts. And hardly used. Oh, oh, two hearts! Oh, baby, I'm beating out a samba!"

"Get the hell out of him," I spat.

"Oo, he's slim, and a little bit foxy. You've thought so too. I've been inside your head. You've been looking. You like it." I glowered at her for a moment before turning my attention to the door that had just opened. "What do we do? What would he do? The Doctor, what the hell would he do?"

"There's a ladder. We go up."

"Out of the way." She pushed past us and started to climb up, with me going in last.

"If you get out of the Doctor's body, he can think of something."

"Yap, yap, yap. God, it was tedious inside your head. All that darkness, all those emotions."

"If you don't get out of him, Cass-" I looked down to see that Matron Casp had gotten ahold of my ankle. "Let go."

"All our good work. All that healing. The good name of the Sisterhood. You have destroyed everything."

"Go and play with a ball of string," Cassandra snapped at the Matron.

"Everywhere, disease. This is the human world. Sickness!" I watched as one of the infected grabbed her, infecting her as well. She released me, falling to her death, leaving behind her screams.

"Move!"

"Now what do we do?"

"Use the sonic."

Cassandra pulled out the sonic screwdriver. "You mean this thing?"

"Yes!"

"Well, I don't know how. That Doctor's hidden away all his thoughts."

I groaned, hating what I was about to say. "Come back into me."

"Hold on tight." I felt her energy pass into me. "Oh, chavtastic again. Open it!"

"Not till you get out of her."

"Doctor, just open the door. We need you."

"The blonde's right. We need the Doctor."

"I order you to leave her!"

The energy left me. "No matter how difficult the situation, there is no need to shout."

"He told you to leave me, didn't he? He's such an idiot at times. Get out of him though, seriously."

"But I can't go into you, he simply refuses. He's so rude."

"I know, but you can't get into Rose either. Find another way," I reasoned, looking down at the infected.

"Oh, I am so going to regret this." Cassandra's energy left the Doctor and went into the infected woman that was almost within arm's reach. "Oh, sweet Lord. I look disgusting."

The Doctor opened the lift doors and helped us out, pulling me into a hug. "I'm glad you're alright." I nodded, noticing we were in Ward 26 waiting room.

"No, you don't," I heard Cassandra say before I felt her energy reenter me. The force of the impact pushed me to the floor.

"That was your last warning, Cassandra!"

"Inside her head. They're so alone. They keep reaching out, just to hold us. All their lives and they've never been touched." The Doctor's expression softened a bit before he held out his hand, helping me up.

A woman in a black business suit, with glasses and blonde hair done up in a bun lunged at us with a metal stand. "We're safe! We're safe! We're safe! We're clean! We're clean! Look, look."

"Show me your skin."

"Look, clean. Look, if we'd been touched, we'd be dead. So how's it going up here? What's the status?"

"There's nothing but silence from the other wards. I think we're the only ones left. And I've been trying to override the quarantine. If I can trip a signal over to New New York, they can send a private executive squad."

"You can't do that. If they forced entry, they'd break quarantine."

"I am _not_ dying here."

"We can't let a single particle of disease get out. There are ten million people in that city. They'd all be at risk. Now, turn that off!"

"Not if it gets me out."

"All right, fine. So I have to stop you lot as well. Suits me. Cerys, Rose, novice Hame, everyone! Excuse me, your Grace. Get me intravenous solutions for every single disease. Move it!" We all scrambled to get drip bags while the Doctor retrieved a long piece of heavy rope. He then started to hang the solutions around his body. "How's that? Will that do?"

"I don't know. Will it do for what?" He opened the lift doors. "The lifts aren't working."

"Not moving. Different thing. Here we go." He put the sonic between his teeth and started to run.

"But you're not going to-" He jumped and grabbed the lift cable. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm going down! Come on!" He attached a small round piece to the cable.

"Not in a million years."

"I need another pair of hands. What do you think? If you're so desperate to stay alive, why don't you live a little?"

"What about me?"

"Of course you're coming, Rose." She ran and jumped.

"Seal the door!"

Cassandra had my body trapped with the approaching infected. "No!" She jumped and landed on the Doctor's back. "You're completely mad. I can see why she likes you, even if that isn't the only reason."

"Going down!" The wheel began to take us down. I heard myself scream for a bit before we came to a stop. He dropped down on top of the lift. "Well, that's one way to lose weight."

"Now, listen. When I say so, both of you hold of that lever."

"There's still a quarantine down there, we can't"

"Hold that lever! I'm cooking up a cocktail. I know a bit about medicine myself." I watched as he poured the contents of the IV bags into the disinfectant tank. "Now, that lever's going to resist. But keep it in position. Hold onto it with everything you've got."

"What about you?"

"I've got an appointment. The Doctor is in," he said before he dropped down into the lift. I watched as he opened the door with his sonic. "I' m in here! Come on!"

"Don't tell them."

"Pull that lever!" Rose and I both pulled the lever, holding it with all we could muster. "Come and get me. Come on! I'm in here!"

"**Commence stage one disinfection.**"

"Hurry up! Come on!" He was silent for a bit. "Come on, come on." The lift was then filled with a few of the infected. After the water had hit them, they walked out. "All they want to do is pass it on. Pass it on!"

"Pass on what? Pass on what?"

"Pass it on!" Rose and I released the lever and she jumped down, with me following.

"What did they pass on? Did you kill them? All of them?"

"No. That's your way of doing things. I'm the Doctor and I cured them." A woman came over and hugged him.

"That's right. Hey, there we go, sweetheart. Go to him. Go on, that's it. That's it. It's a new sub-species, Cassandra. A brand new form of life. New humans! Look at them. Look! Grown by cats, kept in the dark, fed by tubes, but completely, completely alive. You can't deny them, because you helped create them. The human race just keeps on going, keeps on changing. Life will out! Ha!"

Time had quickly passed and the quarantine was lifted. The three of us were back in Ward 26.

"This is the NNYPD. Please step away from the shuttles."

"**All staff will present themselves to the officers for immediate arrest. I repeat, immediate arrest. All new life forms will be catalogued and taken into care. All visitors to the hospital will be required to make a statement to the NNYPD.**"

The only person left in the ward was the Face of Boe. "The Face of Boe!" We ran over to him. "You were supposed to be dying."

"There are better things to do today. Dying can wait."

"Oh, I hate telepathy. Just what I need, a head full of big face."

"Shh!"

"I have grown tired with the universe, Doctor, but you have taught me to look at it anew."

He walked over, crouching down. "There are legends, you know, saying that you're millions of years old."

"There are? That would be impossible."

"Wouldn't it just. I got the impression there was something you wanted to tell me."

"A great secret."

"So the legend says."

"It can wait."

"Oh, does it have to?"

"We shall meet again, Doctor, for the third time, for the last time, and the truth shall be told. Until that day." The Face of Boe beamed away.

"That is enigmatic. That, that is, that is textbook enigmatic." He stood, turned and faced me. "And now for you."

"But everything's happy. Everything's fine. Can't you just leave me?"

"You've lived long enough. Leave that body and end it, Cassandra."

"I don't want to die."

"No one does."

"Help me."

"I can't."

"Mistress!"

"Oh, you're alive."

"I kept myself safe for you, mistress."

"A body. And not just that, a volunteer."

"Don't you dare. He's got a life of his own."

"But I worship the mistress. I welcome her."

"You can't, Cassandra, you-" he was cut off as Cassandra transferred from me to Chip. I fell into the Doctor's arms. "Oh! You all right?" I pushed away, trying to stand on my own but almost fell. "Whoa! Okay?"

"Fine."

"Welcome back." He smiled at me and kept his arm around my waist. I glanced at Rose to see that she was looking away, frowning.

"Oh, sweet Lord. I'm a walking doodle."

"You can't stay in there. I'm sorry, Cassandra, but that's not fair. I can take you to the city. They can build you a skin tank and you can stand trial for what you've done."

"Well, that would be rather dramatic. Possibly my finest hour, and certainly my finest hat," she touched her hat, smiling, "but I'm afraid we don't have time. Poor little Chip is only a half-life, and he's been through so much. His heart is racing so. He's failing. I don't think he's going to last…" She fell to her knees. The Doctor let go of me and rushed to her side, helping her up.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I'm dying, but that's fine."

"I can take you to the city."

"No, you won't. Everything's new on this planet. There's no place for Chip and me anymore. You're right, Doctor. It's time to die, and that's good."

We helped her up. "Come on. There's one last thing I can do."

We all went to the Tardis, with me supporting Cassandra. The Doctor was moving around the console, and Rose had gone off to her room. When we landed, I could hear the sounds of a party, and a woman talking. I released her, knowing she could manage the short distance. "Thank you."

"Just go. And don't look back." I nodded and we watched her go, walking up to herself. She said some things and then collapsed, dead.

Closing the Tardis door behind him, he returned to the console. I remained in my spot, stuck between wanting to go to the library and staying with him. Making my decision, I turned to go to the library when my face hit something hard. I stepped back, catching a glimpse of what I had bumped into, I saw a familiar pin striped suit. Mumbling an apology, I stepped aside and started to walk away. As I did so, I felt him grab my arm. I struggled a bit but his grip remained. "Let go of me."

"I just want to talk."

"And I said let me go." Fear overwhelmed me as I began to relive the nightmare. The Doctor had disappeared and was replaced with the visage of the man. Thinking of all he'd done, my fear became rage and before I could even realized what I was doing, I began to hit him. "This is all your fault! You kidnapped me, you filthy perverted monster! You took me away from him. I can't hear him. I can't even feel him! I need him and you separated us! Are you happy? You murdered me and destroyed any life I could have with him. I hate you! I'll kill you for what you've done."

As I brought my hand down to strike him again, he caught it, pulling me into his arms. I struggled to get out of them, barely hearing him call my name. "Cerys! Cerys it's me. It's the Doctor."

"Doctor?" I croaked.

"Yes, it's me. You're safe."

My anger dissipated into hysteria as I sobbed uncontrollably into his chest before I pushed myself away. "Doctor. No! He can't know about me! He'll hate me!"

"Why would I hate you?"

"I was weak. They broke me, made me do things. He'll never forgive me."

"Of course I will. I'll always forgive you."

"No! Especially once he finds out. He mustn't know," I begged.

"I mustn't know what?"

"Stop that! You aren't him, you aren't the Doctor."

"Yes I am. We've been travelling together."

"Travelling? He hasn't travelled since-" I stopped, a crippling headache starting up. I shut my eyes grimacing.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I heard the man ask. I didn't answer, I couldn't answer. Letting out a small cry, I felt myself fade.

* * *

_Hey, so I've finally updated... a day or so late. Sorry about that. Things have been a bit busy since I went on holiday. But with that said... thanks for all the reviews. Totally appreciate it. _

**NicoleR85:** _Definitely feel the same about OCs taking the crap given. I tend to make female characters not take crap from anyone. The thing is, since it's so early in the story, so maybe it'll seem like she's taking it at the moment but it won't seem that way later one :)_

**dream lighting:** _The Doctor will most likely have a moment of clarity sooner or later. _

**I'm-a-Klaus-addict:** _Thanks. My whole reason for it being Cerys was because she was the main speaker to Cassandra. It was definitely an opportunity for a Doctor-Cerys kiss without it being so. At first I was going to make it one book but I'm not too sure because while it would be a lot easier to make it one book, I do like the breakdown. But there is a strong possibility it'll be one book. My main way of breaking it down was to do it by companion... two companions per book. But only time will tell. _

**Lizzybug2000:** _Thanks. Cassandra actually does say something to the Doctor pertaining to certain things. It'll be up in the next chapter. _

**yellowroseofthenw:** _Welcome to the story. Yeah, to be honest, I hate when stories jump straight into the romance. Nothing is ever like that works out. Besides, it's been done multiple times and unless done properly, they can suck. But thanks for the review. _


	23. Tooth and Claw

I awoke to someone stroking my hair. As I tried to get up the arm around my waist tightened, holding me closer to the person. Turning my head, I saw it was just the Doctor. I sighed, trying to figure out why he was laying in my bed with me. It felt nice and I felt safe, so very safe. It suddenly dawned on me that the last time I was conscience, I was in the console room. I turned my body to him, his arms still wrapped around my middle. His eyes were shut and he seemed to be at ease. "How did I get in here?"

"I carried you."

"Oh. What happened?"

"The intrusion of Cassandra in your mind set you off. You went a bit mad."

"Just a _bit_?" I glanced down, not wanting to make eye contact with him. "Did… did I hurt anyone?"

"No."

"Tell me the truth. Did I hurt anyone?"

"No one. Rose was in her room. I just tried to help."

"She didn't come out?"

"No."

"She's still upset then," I murmured.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. How long have I been asleep?"

"Few hours."

"And have you been here?"

"A few hours."

"You didn't leave?"

"Once when Rose had called me."

I sighed and curled myself into him. "Thank you."

"It's fine."

"Of course you'd say that." He chuckled a bit. "I'm sorry, about what I'd said on Christmas."

"You were right though, in a way. I do want her back and you remind me so much of her, but I know the differences. You aren't her. She was taken by the High Council and made into a weapon. She's gone."

"Was she amazing?"

"Yes… but she wasn't perfect."

"Oh. Well, she was probably close enough. Do you miss her?"

"Not as much."

"Why not?"

"I just don't."

I softly smiled, accepting that he wouldn't tell me. I sat up, gently moving his arm from my waist and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "You should probably go." He watched at me with a confused expression. "I want to shower," I chuckled as I crept out of the bed.

"Oh, right," he nodded as he got up. I watched him walk to the door but he stopped, turned, and strode back to me. I observed him, a bit puzzled but that gave way to shock when he cupped my face and kissed me. "I don't kiss you because you remind me of her. I want to kiss you, if you allow me."

I shook my head, trying to get through the fog that clouded my thought. "I will but not in front of Rose." He nodded, gave me another kiss and left me to my own devices.

I stood there for a moment processing what had just transpired. I'd just given the Doctor permission to kiss me. As unsure as I was about his intentions, I was somewhat happy. Puffing out a breath of air, I walked to the bathroom and closed the door. I turned on the shower, making sure the water wasn't too hot before carefully peeling off my sweatpants. I removed the gauze and the rest of my clothing before gingerly entering the shower.

After taking care of all that I needed, I dressed and left the room. Making a quick pit stop to the kitchen, I grabbed a double chocolate chip muffin and walked to the console room. As I reached the door, I heard Rose and the Doctor talking. I stepped back, concealing myself in the shadows. "I don't know. It's like ever since you changed, she's been different."

"She's your sister, Rose and she was in pain."

"I know but that doesn't change anything. It's like she staked a claim on you."

"Still family," he replied, ignoring her last statement.

"Families argue and don't talk."

"When's the last time you and Cerys had a proper row? One that almost ruined your friendship?"

"When we were sixteen. It was after I found her…"

"Found her where?"

"Nowhere. Was she alright though? I heard the screams… and what she said. Why would she say those things?"

"Rose, it was because she had someone else in her head. The brain's extremely delicate and Cassandra's intrusion caused a slight break from reality. She's fine now."

"How would you know?"

"I went to check on her, something you should have done."

"Is this a lecture now?"

"I know what it's like to lose what's most important and I don't want you to feel that way. It's time to get over it and talk."

"I suppose." I took that as my cue and entered the room. The pair looked up, Rose quickly averted her gaze and the Doctor's eyes lighting up. "I'm going to change." She walked past me without a word.

"Where would you like to go?"

"I chose the last place so it's Rose's turn." He nodded as I went to sit in the captain's chair. The Doctor came over and stood in front of me. I watched him curiously, wondering what he was planning.

_'__Maybe I should do it now.'_ I heard him say.

"Do what now?"

"What?"

"You said…"

"I didn't say anything."

"Yes you did. I heard you!"

"Cerys, I haven't said anything. Maybe Cassandra's presence did more than I thought." He grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the console room.

"Where are we going?"

"Med-bay. I need to know if something else happened."

"What, besides my mental breakdown?"

"You heard us talking."

"A bit of it. What did I say?"

"Nothing."

I stopped, pulling him to be as he continued to stride down the corridor. "Please, don't lie to me."

"Does it matter?"

"Yes."

He sighed exasperated. "I'll tell you after I figure it all out."

"Promise?"

"Of course."

"Liar," I said with a small smile and continued to walk.

When we reached the medical centre, the Doctor placed me in a contraption and began to scan me. As he glanced at the monitor, I watched as his eyes flickered to me in slight disbelief. The more he looked from the screen to me, the antsier I grew. Then a smile came grew and he came over, shutting down the machine. "So…"

"You're fine. It was really just an aftereffect."

"Then why are you smiling?"

"I'm glad you're alright."

"Um, okay. Can we go back to the console room? Rose is probably waiting. His smile faded a bit but he nodded and grabbed my hand.

We had gotten to the console room only minutes before Rose walked in wearing denim mini-dungarees, oblivious to the fact we had left the room. "What do you think of this? Will it do?"

"In the late 1970s? You'd be better off in a bin bag." She rolled her eyes at him. "Hold on, listen to this." The Doctor inserted a CD into the Tardis music player. "Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Number One in 1979."

"You're a punk." I smiled at that.

"It's good to be a lunatic," he sang along.

"That's what you are. A big old punk with a bit of rockabilly thrown in."

"Would you like to see him?"

"How'd you mean? In concert?" Rose asked.

"What else is a Tardis for? I can take you to the Battle of Trafalgar, the first anti-gravity Olympics, Caesar crossing the Rubicon or Ian Dury at the Top Rank, Sheffield, England, Earth, 21st November, 1979. What do you think?"

"Sheffield it is."

"Hold on tight." I watched as he beat to the rhythm of the song on the console.

"Stop!" the man yelled as he banged his hammer against the console. The Tardis came to a sudden stop that threw us to the floor. I landed on my front, ultimately hitting my leg on the floor. I let out a small hiss before looking up hoping they hadn't noticed. When I felt they hadn't I stood, and walked over to the console.

"1979. Hell of a year. China invades Vietnam. The Muppet Movie. Love that film. Margaret Thatcher. Urgh. Skylab falls to Earth, with a little help from me. Nearly took off my thumb." I laughed at him and led the way out, stopping myself as I reached out to link my arm with Rose's. Looking down, I stepped out, followed by Rose and the Doctor. I suddenly stopped, cautiously glancing at the men in front of me with their rifles cocked. "And I like my thumb. I need my thumb. I'm very attached to…" the Doctor noticed them, "my thumb." He and Rose held up their hands in surrender. Seeing we were surrounded by the men. The man in charge sat upon a beautiful black horse. "1879. Same difference."

"No, it isn't," I hissed.

"You will explain your presence. And the nakedness of this girl," the man said referring to Rose's attire.

The Doctor started to speak, donning a Scottish accent. "Are we in Scotland?"

"How can you be so ignorant of that?"

"Oh, I'm, I'm dazed and confused. Her sister and I've been chasing this, this wee naked child over hill and over dale. Isn't that right, ya timorous beastie?"

Rose glared at him. "Och, aye! I've been oot and aboot."

"No, don't do that."

"Hoots mon."

"Rose…"

"No, really don't. Really," the Doctor stressed.

"Will you identify yourself, sir?"

"I'm Doctor James McCrimmon, from the township of Balamory. I have my credentials, if I may." The Doctor reached inside his coat and pulled out the psychic paper. Rose dropped her hands and tried to cover herself up. "As you can see, a Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. I trained under Doctor Bell himself."

"Let them approach," said a voice within the carriage.

"I don't think that's wise, ma'am."

"Let them approach."

"You will approach the carriage, and show all due deference." A footman opened the door as we walked over, showing us Queen Victoria. "Rose, Cerys, might I introduce her Majesty Queen Victoria. Empress of India and Defender of the Faith."

"Rose Tyler, Ma'am. And my apologies for being so naked."

"I've had five daughters. It's nothing to me. But you, Doctor. Show me your credentials." He gave her the psychic paper. "Why didn't you say so immediately? It states clearly here that you have been appointed by the Lord Provost as my Protector."

"Does it? Yes, it does. Good. Good. Then let me ask - why is Your Majesty travelling by road when there's a train all the way to Aberdeen?"

"A tree on the line."

"An accident?"

"I am the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Everything around me tends to be planned."

"An assassination attempt?"

"What, seriously? There's people out to kill ya?"

"I'm quite used to staring down the barrel of a gun."

The man in charge joined us. "Sir Robert MacLeish lives but ten miles hence. We've sent word ahead. He'll shelter us for tonight, then we can reach Balmoral tomorrow."

"This Doctor, the sister, and his timorous beastie will come with us."

"Yes, Ma'am. We'd better get moving - it's almost nightfall."

"Indeed. And there are stories of wolves in these parts. Fanciful tales intended to scare the children. But good for the blood, I think. Drive on!"

We began to walk alongside the carriage. I was looking around, taking in the scenery. It was peaceful out, quiet. "It's funny though, because you say assassination and you just think of Kennedy and stuff. Not her," Rose admitted.

"1879? I think there's been six attempts on her life," I replied, momentarily forgetting she was ignoring me. I quickly went back to observing; noticing the concerned glance the Doctor shot me.

"I'll tell you something else. We just met Queen Victoria!"

"I know!"

"What a laugh!"

"She was just sitting there."

"Like a stamp."

"I want her to say we are not amused. I bet you five quid I can make her say it."

"Well, if I gambled on that, it'd be an abuse of my privileges of traveller in time."

"Ten quid?"

"Done." I shook my head at the two of them but remained silent.

We had walked for hours before we reached where we would be lodging for the night and I was excited to see it was a beautiful old place. When we reached the courtyard, a man met us, bowing to Queen Victoria. "Your Majesty."

"Sir Robert. My apologies for the emergency. And how is Lady Isobel?"

"She's indisposed, I'm afraid. She's gone to Edinburgh for the season. And she's taken the cook with her. The kitchens are barely stocked. I wouldn't blame Your Majesty if you wanted to ride on." I cocked my head to the side, confused as to why he was attempting to have the Queen continue on.

"Oh, not at all. I've had quite enough carriage exercise. And this is charming, if rustic. It's my first visit to this house. My late husband spoke of it often. The Torchwood Estate. Now, shall we go inside? And please excuse the naked girl."

"Sorry."

"She's a feral child. Her sister, not so much. I bought them for twelve pence in old London Town. It was them or the Elephant Man, so…"

"Thinks he's funny but I'm so not amused. What do you think, ma'am?"

"It hardly matters. Shall we proceed?"

"So close," Rose whispered as Queen Victoria entered the house.

The commander, Reynolds, walked over to us, with two men in tow. "Makerson and Ramsey, you will escort the property. Hurry up."

"Yes, sir."

I curiously watched as they removed a small box from the vehicle and brought it into the house. "What's in there, then?"

"Property of the Crown. You will dismiss any further thoughts, sir. The rest of you go to the rear of the house. Assume your designated positions."

"You heard the orders," one man said to another.

"Sir."

We walked into the house, a feeling of dread rising up within me. Something wasn't right about the place. I kept my qualms to myself, waiting until I had more information before telling the Doctor and Rose. Silently, I followed them to the observatory.

"This, I take it, is the famous Endeavour," the Queen said as she motioned to a massive bronze telescope that stood by the window.

"All my father's work. Built by hand in his final years. Became something of an obsession. He spent his money on this rather than caring for the house or himself."

"I wish I'd met him. I like him. That thing's beautiful. Can I, em?" He motioned to the telescope.

"Help yourself."

The Doctor walked over to it, scrutinising it. Rose and I joined him although Rose just watched the Doctor. "What did he model it on?"

"I know nothing about it. To be honest, most of us thought him a little, shall we say, eccentric. I wish now I'd spent more time with him… listened to his stories."

"It's a bit rubbish. How many prisms has it got? Way too many. The magnification's gone right over the top. That's stupid kind of…"

"Doctor."

"I'm being rude again?"

"Yep," Rose answered, patting his arm.

"But it's pretty. It's very pretty."

"Some save that was."

"And the imagination of it should be applauded."

"Mmm. Thought you might disapprove, Your Majesty. Stargazing. Isn't that a bit fanciful? You could easily not be amused, or something? No?" The Doctor smirked, looking down to hide it as he rubbed his eye.

"This device surveys the infinite work of God. What could be finer? Sir Robert's father was an example to us all. A polymath, steeped in astronomy and sciences, yet equally well versed in folklore and fairy tales."

"Stars and magic. I like him more and more."

"Oh, my late husband enjoyed his company. Prince Albert himself was acquainted with many rural superstitions, coming as he did from Saxe Coburg."

"That's Bavaria," he whispered to us.

"When Albert was told about your local wolf, he was transported."

"So, what's this wolf, then?"

"It's just a story."

"Then tell it."

He snuck a peek to the servants. "It's said that-" He was interrupted by his bald butler. I examined the man. He was different from any butlers I'd been around or seen. I made a mental note of it.

"Excuse me, sir. Perhaps her Majesty's party could repair to their rooms. It's almost dark."

"Of course. Yes, of course."

"And then supper. And could we find some clothes for Miss Tyler? I'm tired of nakedness. Her sister as well."

"It's not amusing, is it?"

The Queen glanced at Rose and then turned back, ignoring her. "Sir Robert, your wife must have left some clothes. See to it. We shall dine at seven, and talk some more of this wolf. After all, there is a full moon tonight."

"So there is, Ma'am."

Rose and I were escorted to a bedroom and shown the wardrobe. As she went through its contents, I laid on the bed staring at the ceiling. "How long is this going to last?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Rose. Since Christmas you've been ignoring me."

"And?"

"Are you seriously still upset that I snapped at you?"

"No."

"Then what is it?"

"It's your fault he changed!"

"My fault? You took in the Time Vortex, Rose."

"So did you."

"To save your life!" I all but screeched in annoyance. "Is that what's this is really about, you blaming me because he regenerated? He could have let me die but he didn't. The Doctor _chose_ to save me, just like I _chose_ to save you."

"You just wanted him to kiss you!"

"What does that have- oh, do you fancy him, Rose?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Do you?"

"Maybe but it's not like I stand a chance. It's always you Cerys. He doesn't look at me like he does you."

"You're the one who pushed us together. If you didn't want this to happen then you shouldn't have done it."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that for the first time in a very long time, I'm saying no to you. You can't have the Doctor, Rose. I care about him a lot and I'm not going to let you take that from me. I've always backed off those times we happened to like the same guy but not now, not this time."

"Mickey was right, you do love him."

"I don't know if it's love but I don't want to give him up. I've never felt this happy with someone before and I- I can't…" I looked up, trying to keep my tears from falling. When I had accomplished that, I returned my gaze to Rose, who wore a guilty expression. "Are we good?" She nodded, pulling me into a hug.

"I'm sorry, Cerys." She looked away thoughtful for a moment. "You should tell him. Even someone as stubborn as me could see he fancies you."

"Yeah, I know," I answered with a small smile before I pulled away and turned my attention to the wardrobe. Quickly going through it, I found a blue velvet dress for Rose and a purple one for myself. "Here. Put that on." She nodded and took the dress from me, placing it on the bed beside mine, before she went to look around, opening another wardrobe and yelping.

"Cerys. You should come see this." I walked over, seeing that Rose had found a housemaid in one of the cupboards.

"They came through the house. In the excitement they took the Steward and the Master, and my Lady."

"Listen, we've got a friend. He's called the Doctor. He'll know what to do. You've got to come with us."

"Oh, but I can't, Miss."

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Flora."

"Flora, we'll be safe. There's more people arrived downstairs, soldiers and everything, and they can help us. I promise. Come on. Okay? Come on."

The girl nodded and we all left the room. Out in the corridor, once the coast was clear, we came to a corner, finding a soldier lying on the floor. "Oh, Miss. I did warn you."

I bent down and checked the man. He had a pulse which was a good thing. "He's alive. He was either drugged or knocked unconscious. I think it's the later-" Before I could finish, someone grabbed me around my waist and covered my mouth. I looked up to see the same happening to Rose and Flora. I struggled a bit but the person was too strong. Eventually they placed something over my nose causing me to pass out.

* * *

_Hello all. So as of now, I'll be updating every two days since I suck at doing the every other day posting while I'm away. Uh, that's all I really had to say. Thanks so much for the reviews. I love hearing your opinions and from you in general._

**NicoleR85:** _Same here. I really hoped you enjoyed this chapter then. I try really hard to make Cerys that way and I hoped it worked. _

**I'm-a-Klaus-addict:** _Well, you definitely got the answer for how the Doctor'll react. Not awkward at all haha. But yeah, Cerys will definitely surpass Rose. Caffeine is amazing! Without it, I'd never get anything done. But keep looking for those connections. _

**dream lighting:** _Nope, Rose does not hate Cerys. They're best friends and like all best friends, they argue and all. But Cerys might finally open up and tell him what's bothering her... or she might not. _


	24. Hurting Him for the Second Time

When I came to, my head was resting on Rose's lap. I quickly sat up and took in my surroundings. Around me, a group of people were huddled together, as far as they could possibly get from the man in the cage. One woman caught my attention as she was holding on to one of the girls. "Isobel?" I whispered.

She nodded. "Don't make a sound. They said if we scream or shout, then he will slaughter us."

Rose met my eyes, sharing a confused expression. "But he's in a cage. He's a prisoner. He's the same as us."

"No, he's not." She looked at me, waiting for me to continue. "Remember when we met Gwyneth? The feeling I got while we were there, I've had since we arrived."

"Why didn't you say?"

"I wanted to be sure it was something."

"He's nothing like us." Isobel said, confirming my thoughts. "That creature is not mortal." The man opened his eyes, showing that they were completely black.

I watched him, not sure how long the cage would hold him. Rose stood, moving as far as she could towards him. I followed, wanting to learn more. "Don't."

"Who are you?"

"Don't enrage him," a man said.

"Where are you from? It's obvious you didn't come from Earth. So tell us, what planet you came from."

"Oh, intelligence."

"Where were you born?"

"This body? Ten miles away. A weakling, heartsick boy, stolen away at night by the brethren for my cultivation. I carved out his soul and sat in his heart."

"Okay, human body. Tell me about yourself."

"So far from home."

"If you want to get back home, we can help," Rose said.

"Why would I leave this place? A world of industry, of workforce and warfare. I could turn it to such purpose."

"How would you do that?"

"Queen Victoria."

"Yes. I would migrate to the Holy Matriarch. With one bite, I would pass into her blood, and then it begins. The Empire of the Wolf. Many questions." He lurched forward, causing Rose to jump. I remained still, watching him with wary eyes. "You show no fear."

"There's not much that scares me."

"Lie. You are frightened of what has transpired in your past."

"Right, because you know about my life."

"You were in the war."

"I've never been in a war."

"Says the daughter of time." I stiffened. That was the second time I had been called that and I had no idea as to why. It scared me to say the least, but I tried to ignore it.

He turned from me to Rose. "Look. Inside your eyes. You've seen it too."

"Seen what?"

"The Wolf. There is something of the Wolf about you."

"I don't know what you mean," Rose replied.

"You burnt like the sun, but all I require is the moon."

"I see. You're the wolf they were talking about and tonight's a full moon. Rose, we need to get them out of here."

The cellar doors opened, shining moonlight on the cage. "Moonlight." He pulled off his cloak as wind blew through the cellar.

"All of you! Stop looking at it! Flora, don't look. Listen to me. Grab hold of the chain and pull! Come on! With me! Pull!" We all started to pull on the chain as the man began to change. I glanced from the chain to the werewolf, keeping tabs on both. "I said pull! Stop your whining and listen to me! All of you! And that means you, your Ladyship. Now come on, pull!" His transformation continued, making bone cracking sounds as he screamed, his body becoming fox-like. "One, two, three, pull! One, two, three, pull!" When he had completed the conversion, he looked down, examining its paws. "One, two, three, pull!" With the final pull, the chains broke free from the walls, just as the Doctor and Robert kicked the door in.

"Where the hell have you been?"

The Doctor looked at the crate, inching in a bit more to take a better look. "Oh, that's beautiful." Everyone but the Doctor and I ran out.

"I know right. But right now, it's hell bent on killing us," I snapped.

"Come on, go. Get out!"

The werewolf broke out of the cage.

"Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out!"

"Come on," Rose yelled as the Doctor admired the creature. I rolled my eyes and grabbed the back of his coat, ducking as a piece of the cage flew towards us. Once we were outside, he locked the door with the sonic.

We had run to the gun room of all places. I sighed, knowing guns would have no effect on the creature. The steward was handing out guns to all of the men. "Arms, and you five. Ready, everyone?" He turned to Isobel. "Take the girls. Get them out through the kitchen."

"I can't leave you. What will you do?"

"I must defend her Majesty. Now, don't think of me, just go."

"All of you, at my side. Come on!"

The Doctor was removing the shackles from me with the screwdriver. Once he had finished, I thanked him and walked off. "It could be any form of light modulated species triggered by specific wavelengths. Did it say what it wanted?"

"The Queen, the Crown, the throne - you name it." Suddenly there was a crash that indicated that the werewolf had gotten out. The Doctor ran to see and then ran back, grabbing Rose and me.

"Fire! Fire!"

"All right, you men. We should retreat upstairs. Come with me."

"I'll not retreat. The battle's done. There's no creature on God's Earth that could survive such an assault."

"You're bullets only made him more upset. Just listen to him."

"You are in no place to talk, woman. You know nothing of battle. An insolent child speaking as if she knew man's work and duty."

I stalked over to him, giving him a hard slap. "I think you should learn how to speak to a woman. As for battle, no, I've never been on the front lines nor have I seen the bloodshed. But what I have seen is the effect it leaves on others. This _battle_ is one you can't win. Now listen to him and retreat!"

The Doctor came over to put an arm around me but I quickly slipped from under him, too upset to want his comfort. He had little time to say anything before the steward was hoisted up to the ceiling. "There's nothing we can do!" We all took off running, leaving behind the sound of gunshots, snarling, and wet meat ripping.

We ran through the corridor, hitting a staircase. As we ran, Robert was calling out for Queen Victoria. "Your Majesty? Your Majesty!"

"Sir Robert? What's happening?" She replied as she came down the stairs. "I heard such terrible noises."

"Your Majesty, we've got to get out. But what of Father Angelo? Is he still here?"

"Captain Reynolds disposed of him."

"The front door's no good, it's been boarded shut. Pardon me, Your Majesty. You'll have to leg it out of a window," The Doctor told her as we entered the drawing room, happy to see a window. The uneasy feeling continued to nag at me.

"This isn't going to work."

"Sure it will, Cerys."

"No, the men here, the butlers, servants, whatever, they're all bald. They have something to do with this and if I'm right, then they've taken precautions to ensure we remain inside."

Everyone but Rose ignored me. I was getting annoyed with this situation, and the fact the Doctor paid no mind to my opinion of caution. "We should listen to Cerys."

"Excuse my manners, Ma'am, but I shall go first, the better to assist Her Majesty's egress," Robert said, ignoring Rose as well.

"A noble sentiment, my Sir Walter Raleigh."

"Yeah, any chance you could hurry up?" The Doctor questioned, losing his Scottish accent.

"Don't open that window!" I yelled as Robert did so. As he started to climb out, there was the sound of gunfire.

The Doctor pulled the man back in as I stood by Rose fuming, ready to slap the two men. "I reckon the monkey boys want us to stay inside."

"Oh, do you think? I could have sworn I mentioned that," I snapped, causing the Doctor to glance at me. He came over and placed a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off and moved to the other side of the room.

"Do they know who I am?"

"Yeah, that's why they want you. The wolf's lined you up for a… a biting," Rose told her.

"Stop this talk. There can't be an actual wolf."

Suddenly there was a howl. We all left the room, seeing the werewolf at the end of the hall. He looked at us, snarling. Rose jumped and grabbed onto me. "What do we do?"

"We… run."

"Is that it?"

"You got any silver bullets?"

"Not on me, no."

"There we are then, we run. Your Majesty, as a Doctor, I recommend a vigorous jog. Good for the health. Come on!" Rose let go of me and started to run, as did the rest of the party. I remained, staring the werewolf down.

"Why are you really doing this? Those men, they're using you to do their dirty work." There was a snarl as it advanced on me. "You don't scare me, you saw that when you were locked in the cage. If you want to kill someone, take me. I know I'm not the Queen but it's better than no one." It snapped but ran past me, using its tail to throw me against the wall. I sat against the wall, collecting myself before I stood and ran after them.

After hearing a scream, I took off in that direction. Upon getting to the scene, I saw the werewolf attacking Reynolds. I grimaced but continued to walk towards it. When I was next to the creature, I hesitantly pressed a hand on its shoulder. It whipped its head around, glaring at me, his muzzle stained in blood, growling. I removed my hand and walked to the only doors I could see. I turned the knob and found it locked. I sighed, wondering if they had noticed my absence if _he_ had noticed. I didn't tell Rose he was off limits for nothing. It was clear the Doctor didn't share any real feelings for her, but I still wasn't a hundred percent sure of his feelings and that made me feel like an idiot for saying what I had to her. I wanted my best friend back but I didn't want to lose him, even if how he felt wasn't what I had thought or hoped.

Gathering whatever strength I had, I turned towards the werewolf. He was watching me intently, almost curiously. I went and placed a hand on its blooded muzzle and noticed it calm significantly. "Please, just stop this." The wolf pushed past me, sniffed the door and stalked off. I sighed and went to lean against the opposite wall. Holding in a sob, I sunk to the floor.

I sat there for what seemed like minutes before I heard the door open. When it did, I saw everyone run out, the Doctor and Rose last. They didn't notice me, or so I thought. A hand was outstretched towards me. Looking up, I saw it was the Doctor's. I took it and quickly pulled away, noticing Rose's expression, almost sad that I'd pulled away from him. She quickly walked over and embraced me, before she pulled away and slapped my arm. "Are you mad? What were you thinking? It could have killed you. Don't do _that_ again."

I nodded, knowing what she was referring to. "But it didn't. I'm fine. Can we just find somewhere else to go?"

Rose stared at me, a bit bewildered before nodding and turning to the Doctor. "You're Majesty!" Robert called.

"Get to the observatory!"

We took off running again. As we did, the werewolf caught up with us, going after Rose this time. Before it could grab her, liquid is thrown at it. The wolf whined and ran off.

"Good shot."

"It was mistletoe," Flora replied to the Doctor."

Robert turned and spotted his wife. "Isobel!" They met and shared a kiss. I looked away, trying to keep the tears at bay. "Now, get back downstairs," he said when they parted.

"Keep yourself safe."

Robert nodded. "Now go."

"Girls, come with me. Down the back stairs, back to the kitchens. Quickly!"

Come on!"

"The observatory's this way." We all began running in the direction Robert had pointed to as the werewolf recovered.

We stood outside the observatory watching Doctor as he inspected the doors. "No mistletoe in these doors because your father wanted the wolf to get inside. I just need time. Is there any way of barricading this?"

"Just do your work and I'll defend it." My eyes snapped to Robert, realizing what he was planning.

"If we could bind them shut with rope or something."

"I said I'd find you time, Sir. Now get inside."

"I'll stay with you."

"This is no place-"

"If you say no place for a woman, I will smack you into the next century, Sir Robert." He glanced at me nervously but said nothing.

"No you aren't Cerys. It'll kill you."

"Didn't kill me last time and it had plenty of time."

"You're not staying out here."

"Right." I stormed over to the Doctor. "What does it matter to you?" I growled, knowing what those words would do. "I'm staying out here with Sir Robert. Take the Queen and figure it out." I turned and stood by Robert as the trio entered the room and locked the door.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Someone has to keep you safe."

"I've committed treason."

"I know but you're still a good man. You don't deserve to die."

"And you do?"

I chuckled. "I've had a death wish for years."

"That man, the Doctor, who is he to you?"

"I wish I knew. We were always close. He was affectionate in his own way. Then we grew closer thanks to my sister. I haven't the best track record with him though."

"And why is that?"

"I keep pushing him away, saying things that will hurt him. At first I didn't want to hurt my sister but now, I'm just scared he doesn't feel the same as I do."

"Your sister," I nodded, looking up at the man, "he doesn't look at her as he does you. When we were in the library, he was frantic. The man almost ran out of the room after it was barricaded to find you."

"Then this would be the second time I have hurt him. Thank you Sir Robert," I gently smiled as the wolf advanced on us.

"I committed treason for you, but now my wife will remember me with honour!" Robert swung his sword at the beast, which only angered it. As it reared its claws, I pushed him out of the way and closed my eyes, waiting for it to kill me. When nothing happened, I opened them and watched in amazement as it sat before me on its haunches. Robert stared at me in disbelief. "What are you?"

"I'm human. It won't attack me. Go to the observatory. I'll be fine. Tell the Doctor I'll be there shortly."

I heard Robert scramble to his feet and knock on the door. Once he was inside, I could hear the Doctor's yells. Ignoring them, I held out my hand to pet the animal. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. This isn't your fault. Those monks made you into a killer. All you want is freedom." The wolf leaned into my hand, enjoying the feel of its fur being stroked. "I could help you, if you want." The creature nodded its head. With a smile, I led it to the library door. I knocked, only for it to be quickly opened.

Once the wolf and I were inside, I told everyone to stand back and for the creature to remain where I had left it. I walked over to the telescope and realized that it wasn't. Turning to face the others, I saw a diamond in the Doctor's hands. "Is that the Koh-I-Noor?" He nodded. I walked over and grabbed his arm, dragging him to the telescope that wasn't a telescope. "I'm sure you figured out that it's not a telescope."

"I thought it just didn't work?" Rose asked.

"No, it's a light chamber. It literally makes light into a weapon. All we have to do is power it up."

"It won't work. There's no electricity." She followed his gaze as they turned the wheel, positioning the chamber. "Moonlight. But the wolf needs moonlight. It's made by moonlight."

"You're seventy percent water but you can still drown. Come on! Come on!" the Doctor replied. I rolled my eyes and grabbed the diamond, placing it on the ground where the light had hit. It refracted up, catching the wolf and lifting it off the floor. The beast changed back to the man we had seen in the cage.

"You are more than you think," he said to me. "Thank you for freeing me. Make it brighter. Let me go." I nodded and the magnification was increased. He was turned back into a wolf and with a howl, he disappeared.

I watched the spot that he had vanished with tears in my eyes. I had saved him and kept Sir Robert safe. With a shaky breath, I turned to face the others in the room. As I did so, someone, Rose, collided with me, throwing her arms around me. When we pulled away, the Doctor made a move to do the same but I shook my head and looked away. My eyes caught Roberts and he frowned at me. "It's been an eventful night. Shall we turn in?"

"Right, please, allow me escort you to your chambers," Robert said as he led us out of the room.

Once we were in our rooms, I sprawled across the bed. I was exhausted both physically and emotionally from the day's events. Lolling there, my thoughts drifted to the Doctor. Although I tried not to notice, I could see the hurt in his eyes from my rejections. I huffed, feeling even worse. I was hurting him and ultimately hurting myself, for nothing. To be honest, I hated myself for what I was doing. I didn't want to be this way, to constantly push him away. I wanted to be with him, to hug and kiss and wake up next to him. I _wanted_ him. Groaning, I turned to my side and closed my eyes, begging for sleep to take me.

I was woken by a knock on the door. Clambering out of the bed, I opened it to a smiling Rose. Still unhappy, I closed it, knowing she'd chalk it up as my usual morning crankiness. I went and sat on the bed for a few minutes before changing and fixing up the room. When I had finished, I left and went to go find Rose and the Doctor. Finding them, Rose informed me that we were to meet with the Queen. She was excited, as was the Doctor. I nodded, keeping my expression stoic, not really feeling the excitement. Queen Victoria entered the room soon after, taking her place in front of our kneeling figures. In her hand was a sword. "By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Sir Doctor of Tardis. By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Dame Rose of the Powell Estate. By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Dame Cerys Tyler of the Powell Estate. You may stand."

We all stood. "Many thanks, Ma'am."

"Thanks. They're never going to believe this back home."

"Your Majesty, you said last night about receiving no message from the great beyond. I think your husband cut that diamond to save your life. He's protecting you even now, Ma'am, from beyond the grave."

"Indeed. Then you may think on this also, that I am not amused."

"Yes!" Rose exclaimed. I rolled my eyes on her but remained silent.

"Not remotely amused. And henceforth I banish you."

"I'm sorry?" the Doctor asked, shocked.

"I rewarded you, Sir Doctor, and now you are exiled from this empire, never to return. I don't know what you are, the three of you, or where you're from, but I know that you consort with stars and magic and think it fun. But your world is steeped in terror and blasphemy and death, and I will not allow it. You will leave this shores and you will reflect, I hope, on how you came to stray so far from all that is good, and how much longer you will survive this terrible life. Now leave my world, and never return." The Doctor nodded and waited for Victoria to leave. Once she had, he led the way out. As I left, I glanced over to where Isobel and Robert stood. They dipped their heads in appreciation and Robert gave me a knowing glance. With a small smile, I exited the gates behind Rose and the Doctor.

The walk was all but quiet, with Rose chattering away. I was lost in my own headspace, not really caring about what the two of them were saying. When we had walked for a few hours, we were able to get a ride from a man named Dougal. He was a nice man who kept us talking. Reaching our destination, Dougal stopped the cart and we hopped off the back and walked towards the Tardis.

"Cheers, Dougal!"

"Walk on."

"No, but the funny thing is, Queen Victoria did actually suffer a mutation of the blood. It's historical record. She was haemophiliac. They used to call it the Royal Disease. But it's always been a mystery because she didn't inherit it. Her mum didn't have it, her dad didn't have it. It came from nowhere."

"What, and you're saying that's a wolf bite?"

"Well, maybe haemophilia is just a Victorian euphemism."

"For werewolf?"

"Could be. And her children had the Royal Disease. Maybe she gave them a quick nip."

"Oh, the Royal Family are werewolves?"

"Well, maybe not yet. I mean, a single wolf cell could take a hundred years to mature. Might be ready by, oh, early 21st century?"

"Nah, that's just ridiculous! Mind you, Princess Anne."

"I'll say no more."

"And if you think about it, they're very private. They plan everything in advance. They could schedule themselves around the moon. We'd never know. And they like hunting!"

We finally reached the Tardis. Brushing past the two, I unlocked the door and rushed to my room. Once there, I locked the door and crawled into my bed, wishing nothing more than to sleep.

_"__You always leave me in the end."_

_"__That isn't true. After all the years we've been together…"_

_"__We were supposed to travel. Now, now we can't."_

_"__Come with me, please, Rys."_

_"__I know I'm really not that important, but-"_

_"__Stop saying that! You are so very important. You're my life Rys, my world."_

_"__Why? I'm just a stupid half-breed."_

_"__Stop it. Please, stop saying that. You are nowhere near stupid. You're one of the most brilliant Time Ladies I know, besides my mum."_

_"__There's others to choose from. Why me?"_

_"__Because you're my Ame Soeur."_

_"__But without that. You wouldn't even give me a second glance."_

_"__A beauty like you? Never."_

_"__You should go. He's looking for you." _

_"__I don't care."_

_"__I do."_

_"__I really don't deserve you."_

_"__I'm sure you won't feel that way after the War."_

_"__I'll feel that way even if you used the Chameleon Arch. Besides, I wouldn't let them take you. They'd have to kill me before I'm able to regenerate."_

_"__I feel the same but something is coming and it will separate us. I just want to be strong enough to resist it."_

_"__You will be."_

* * *

Hey all! Sorry for the late update. I just started working a night job and have been getting little to no sleep. I just got in the house and I figured that since I was still awake, I could post another chapter. So again, sorry for the late update but now onto the reviews, which I appreciate so very much.

**I'm-a-Klaus-addict:** _So glad you're still enjoying the story. As for the couple name... Terys has a ring to it. But hey, the fact that you came up with the names shows that you're creative :) I'm not a big fan of soda actually. I'm more of a double chocolaty chip frappuccino type of girl. I literally have to have one once a day in order to function. That or Snapple peach tea. As for the Rose situation, I know some people portray her as a b***h and all, but she and Cerys are supposed to be like sisters so I wanted her to take the relationship into effect and for her to at least acknowledge (aloud) that she could never really have the Doctor and that Cerys loves him. Like Cerys had said, she's often let Rose have whatever guy she wanted, when they both fancied the same guy and for Cerys to basically say no was supposed to be the point where Rose finally got it. And yes! I particularly enjoyed writing that part. Some OC's just take the abuse and snarky remarks but I wanted to show that Cerys, although quiet and seemingly "weak" can easily stand up for herself and what she believes in when she needs to. Only time will tell if her cutting will come up but have fun looking at Supernatural babies. I can't even watch that show anymore because of the feels. _

**NicoleR85:** _Me too. I can promise that it won't be the last time Cerys stands up to someone. _

** :** _Hey and welcome to the story. Thanks for the review. After reading it, I went through and saw what you were saying about the dialogue. Personally, I've alway used dialogue to lead the story and added descriptions in those areas as well but I definitely understand. The amount of time it takes to write the chapter doesn't bother me at all, honestly and I have gone through and added more description (not much to this chapter) but through the others. I can't say they'll be much of a change in the upcoming chapter but I will definitely add more description to the chapters I've already written and have to write. I appreciate your review and I'm glad you're at least enjoying it and the fact that you want to see it get better makes me want to do so as well. _


	25. School Reunion

When I finally woke up, the emotional toll of the prior adventure finally hit me. I'd met Queen Victoria, a werewolf, and basically admitted my feelings to Rose. Ultimately, I felt like crap; even more so when I remembered what I had said to the Doctor. I hadn't really meant it… it was more of a way for me to get him to leave. I didn't want him getting hurt because of me or Rose for that matter. Sighing at the weak attempt to justify my harsh words, I decided to apologise to the man.

After changing into dark blue jeans, a loose fitted green top and my green Chuck's, I made my way to the console room to find a certain Time Lord. Unfortunately, he wasn't there. Deciding that I wanted to find him, I began to look all over the Tardis but was unable to find him. Huffing out an annoyed breath, I settled for the library again, not that I minded. It truly was my favourite room in the Tardis, minus my room.

As I absentmindedly stared at the dancing flame, I couldn't help but go through my plan. While I had promised Rose I wouldn't do anything, it was getting harder to maintain the guise that I was fine, that the thoughts weren't consuming me. Rose knew it was only a matter of time before I eventually gave up on everything; something she had learned the last time I had been too far gone. I knew it was something that terrified her more than anything else but I also knew that while she would be royally pissed, if I succeeded, she would just have to deal with it. I didn't want to put her through that pain again but as the days passed, the more the idea seemed appealing.

I had been in the library for about an hour when I heard the door open. Seeing that it was Rose, I gave her a small smile before turning back to the fire. Without saying a word, she plopped down beside me and rested her head on my shoulder. The entire time, I couldn't help but wonder why she had joined me but I was enjoying her company. It was nice, the fact that she came looking for me, although I knew it was more out of worry than anything. "I cooked."

"You?" I asked, bewildered. The Rose Tyler I knew rarely cooked; that was more Jackie and my thing.

"Don't say it like that," she chuckled, "but yes. It's nothing special. I just figured after the werewolf thing, we could all have a nice meal. Besides, when have we ever truly gotten a day to rest with the Doctor?"

I stared at her for a moment before turning away. As great as a restful day sounded, I knew there was no way I'd be able to act normal around the Doctor. The fact that he had ignored me, not once but twice hurt. It was getting to the point where I couldn't help but question everything; that I constantly felt as if I wasn't really wanted. It was a feeling that he was practically a spare part, that what he said all those adventures ago was true. In the end I was the third wheel. Shaking my head, I snapped out of my thoughts to answer Rose. "Never. But I don't think I can face him right now. Not after what I said."

"You were angry, Cer. I'm sure he's over it. Besides, this'll give you a chance to talk to him. I know you want too."

"Won't you be there?"

"Yes but I could always leave."

"I can't."

"Too bad. Come on," Rose stated as she stood and pulled me to my feet before dragging me out of the library.

Sitting at the kitchen table, I tried my hardest not to make eye contact with the Doctor as he sat opposite of me. The table was methodically set so that one side was on the wall and Rose sat at the other end. Smiling at me, she placed a serving of pasta on my plate before doing the same for the Doctor and herself. As she placed the glass pan onto the table, her eyes caught mine and she gave me a quick smirk as she took her seat.

The moment Rose had sat down, she began to speak, the conversation directed mainly to the Doctor. As the pair spoke, I barely listened as my mind had wandered. I was more or less thinking about the Doctor, much to my annoyance. It seemed that even when I wanted nothing more than to avoid him, my thoughts automatically drifted to him. I sighed, hating the way I felt. I couldn't understand why he had that effect on me, why I was so drawn to him. Pushing the small amount of food around the plate, I glanced up, making eye contact with the Doctor. I quickly looked away, immediately feeling uncomfortable. Jumping to my feet, I rushed out of the kitchen and to my room, promptly locking the door behind me.

After moments of self-inflicted confinement, there was a knock on my door. Sighing, I left the comfort of my floor and flung the door open, fully expecting to see Rose. To my horror, it was the Doctor. My cheeks flushed red and with one glance, I slammed the door shut, leaning against it as I took in shallow breaths. As I tried to control my heart rate, there was a soft knock on the door. My eyes flew open and I scampered from the door. The knocking persisted for a while longer before I heard a heavy sigh. When I didn't hear anything else, I cracked the door open to see the Doctor leaning on the opposite wall, his head hung low and his eyes closed. Instead of closing the door, I tentatively stepped out of the room and made my way towards him. While I wanted nothing more than to retreat to my room, I wanted to face him, I wanted to clear the air and make things better between him and me. I couldn't really deny how I felt about the man and no matter how much I tried to abolish those feelings, I couldn't. Taking in a deep breath, I made the short distance to him before running a hand through my tangled hair and gently placing the other on his arm. His eyes flew open and met mine. After what seemed like hours, I looked away and took a step back, my confidence fading. Before I could take another step though, his hand grasped my arm and he pulled me into a bone crushing embrace. The breath of air that I had unconsciously held in came rushing out by the sudden action. I wanted to lean into it but the memory of our time in Scotland the day before was fresh in my head so I pulled away and brought my gaze to the floor.

"What have I done?"

I shrugged. "Nothing." It was a lie and he knew so as well. He removed his hand from my arm and took my chin, lifting it so that I was looking at him.

"Then why are you giving me the cold shoulder?"

"I was... I didn't mean to. It's just…"

"Just what?"

"Why did you ignore me at the manor?"

"What?"

"Nothing. Forget it."

"Cerys?"

"Just forget I said nothing."

"No. Tell me. Please."

I stared at him for a moment before letting my emotions come forth. "Why couldn't you just listen to me? It's like what I have to say doesn't matter. Why do you even keep me around? Am I just here for kick? A play thing for you to bat around until you get bored?"

"No."

"Then what? I can't take this anymore!"

"Take what?"

"This!" I exclaimed, motioning between us hurriedly. "Nothing makes sense anymore and if I say anything about it the whole dynamic of our relationship… or whatever the hell _this_ is… will change. I don't think I could handle that."

He glanced at me, obviously confused with what I had said. "What dynamic?"

"Our friendship that isn't a friendship. I don't know what WE are, Doctor, but I don't want to think it's something it isn't."

"What do you think it is?"

"I don't know! I only know how I feel and I don't want to assume anything and you obviously aren't helping. If anything, you're making things more difficult!"

"So what do you want to know?"

"What are we?"

"We were never just friends, Cerys. From the moment I took your hand and told you to run, we have never been friends."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"I'll tell you some other time," he replied walking off, leaving me in the corridor pondering what he meant.

Groaning, unattractively might I add, I stalked off to the library. It was the only place I knew I'd be able to think and find some peace. The entire conversation was a mystery to me. Sitting before the roaring fire, I mulled over his response to my questions. All he had said was a no and it seemed as if that wasn't the case, even though I wanted so badly to believe that he meant it… that I wasn't a play toy, a spare part. Was it really that hard for me to open up, to believe that a person could actually want me around because they enjoyed my company? Honestly, it was. I was so used to being the odd one out that I didn't even know when I was wanted around. Sighing, I stood and stretched. Looking around, I ran to the farthest wall and randomly pulled out a book, only for it to be pushed back into its slot. Turning around, I came face to face with the Doctor. Trying my best not to glare at him, I gave him a questioning glance. "That one's a bit… well… you know."

"No, I don't know."

"It's boring."

"That's not why you don't want me to read it." He looked away, his eyes hitting the ceiling. "Doctor?"

"It's about my past and I don't particularly want you poking around in mine." I sighed and walked past him. "Cerys?"

"Yes?"

"I truly want you around. Honestly, how could you think I don't?" I shrugged. Without warning, he grabbed hold of my hand causing me to yelp. "Come on. I have an idea.

"And what is that?" I managed to get out as we ran through the corridors to the console room.

"A nice peaceful trip. Just you and me." I came to an abrupt stop at the console room's door and stared at him. I couldn't help but wonder why he would want to do this. "Just some fun."

"What about Rose?"

He glanced at me as he walked around the console pressing buttons and pulling levers. "She's sleeping. Why should we wake her?"

"Don't you think she'd want to come?"

"Cerys, this is an adventure for you and me. Don't worry about Rose." I nodded and allowed him to drag me through the doors. The moment I saw the space before me, my jaw dropped. It was beautiful. The grass was a deep red and the sky seemed to glow purple. In the distance was a teal ocean that seemed to illuminate in the light. Turning to the Doctor, I let out a surprisingly girlish squeak before I took off towards the water.

After a quick dip in the coldest body of water I'd ever been in, I settled down beside the Doctor. He had set up a small area a few steps out with a blanket and a couple snacks and drinks. Plopping down beside him, I reached for the towel and quickly wrapped it around my freezing frame. We sat in a comfortable silence for a while, neither of us wanting to disrupt the serene atmosphere. "It's beautiful here," I finally vocalised.

"Well, you know this planet's known for-"

"I really don't care Doctor." I saw him face me from the corner of my eye. "I just don't want to know anything about this planet. I like the mystery and the beauty. I would like to keep it that way."

"Alright then." We entered another moment of silence, only that one was a bit uncomfortable. It remained that way until he decided to speak. "There's something I've been wondering."

"What?"

"Why would you ever think I keep you around for kicks?"

I gawked at him for a moment before I collected myself. While I hadn't expected him to ask about what I had said, I was somewhat glad that he did. There was so much I wanted to get off my chest but I knew even with this opportunity, I wouldn't say nearly half the things I truly wanted to. "I-I don't know. I'm just used to being ignored and unwanted."

"Well I want you here. Rose does too and I'm quite glad you came along, really."

"Why? All I did was kill you," I snapped before I realised what I said. I stared at him, wide eyed before I hopped to my feet and sprinted to the safety of the Tardis. As I grabbed hold of the handle, I felt his hand on my shoulder.

"You didn't kill me, Cerys."

"Yeah, I did. I took in the vortex from Rose and-"

"And I _willingly_ took it from you. I didn't want you to die. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if you did," he admitted. I glanced at him, our eyes connecting. In his eyes, I could see the emotion swirling beneath his calm exterior. He actually meant what he was telling me, the man truly wanted me around. Giving him a shy smile, I reached a hand up and tugged at his tie, pulling him down to me. I then placed a gentle kiss on his lips. As I pulled away, his arms snaked themselves around my waist, pulling me closer and keeping me from moving any further, not that I minded.

When we finally did part, the Doctor had a sheepish grin on his lips and I tried to regulate my breathing. Glancing back up at him, I couldn't help but chuckle. It seemed as if all my hesitations and doubts were unnecessary. He honestly cared about me. Smiling, I took his hand and led him into the Tardis. Leading him through the corridors, I brought him to the library. I ignored everything and went to sit before the fire, him joining me not a second later. A comfortable silence filled the air as we both sat there, watching as the fire danced. The only times it was broken were when I had to quiet the Doctor. That went on for a while before a yawn escaped me. Getting to his feet, the Doctor helped me to mine and led me to my room. After a quick goodnight, I entered my room and shut the door. Changing out of my clothes, I donned sweat pants and a spaghetti strap tank top and climbed into bed. For the first time in a while, I had pleasant dreams.

Waking up, I had a warm feeling running through my body. Getting out of bed, I went to shower and brush my teeth. When I was finished, I returned to the room and pulled on black skinny jeans, an oversized Nirvana sweatshirt, and my brown combat boots. I glanced at my leather jacket before shaking my head and running out of my room. Finding the wardrobe, I looked around until I saw the worn leather jacket. Smiling, I slipped into it. It was a bit big on me but I didn't care, it was a piece of him and it offered me a bit of comfort. With one last look in the mirror, I left the room. Halfway down the hall when I felt an arm slide around my waist. Turning around to face the Doctor, I gave him a toothy grim before placing a small kiss on his cheek. I was still euphoric from our secret trip and that I hadn't been plagued by any nightmares. A giggle escaped from me as he pressed his lips to mine. Our lips moved in sync until I pulled away. He gave me a small pout but took my hand. Once we had woken Rose, we met her in the console room.

I sat in the canteen on the other side of the Doctor. Ever since Mickey had called talking about strange things happening at Deffry Vale High School, I'd been stuck teaching Biology. I knew my bit but there was one student who was able to answer almost every question I'd asked, including the two questions I added about a few aliens we had encountered. I sighed, listening to the noise that buzzed around me.

"Two days." I looked up, seeing Rose in her dinner lady outfit. She had a rag in her hand and had started to wipe down the table.

"Sorry, could you just? There's a bit of gravy." She wiped a spot. "No, no, just, just there." The Doctor pointed to a spot she had missed.

Rose rolled her eyes and cleaned where he had pointed. "Two days, we've been here."

"Blame your boyfriend. He's the one who put us onto this. And he was right. Boy in class this morning, got a knowledge way beyond planet Earth."

"Same in my class. I asked about the Slitheen, not using the name or anything, just about their composition and the calcium decay. She was able to answer it all."

Rose nodded before looking down at his plate. "You eating those chips?"

"Yeah, they're a bit different."

Rose reached down and grabbed one, popping it in her mouth. "I think they're gorgeous. Wish we had school dinners like this," she said, taking a seat at the end of the table.

"It's very well behaved this place."

"Mmm."

"I thought there'd be happy slapping hoodies. Happy slapping hoodies with ASBOs. Happy slapping hoodies with ASBOs and ringtones. Huh? Huh? Oh, yeah. Don't tell me I don't fit in."

I nodded, rolling my eyes at him and watched as the head dinner lady stormed over. "You are not permitted to leave your station during a sitting."

"I was just talking to these teachers."

"Hello," the Doctor waved. I eyed the woman suspiciously, feeling that something was off with her.

"He doesn't like the chips."

The woman looked almost offended by that. "The menu has been specifically designed by the headmaster to improve concentration and performance. Now, get back to work."

"See? This is me. Dinner lady."

"I'll have the crumble."

"Oh, and some chocolate cake," I piped with a laugh.

"I'm so going to kill you, the both of you," she replied with a smile, pointing a threatening finger at us. I looked up, seeing the head master looking down at the room, and stifled a shiver. Something about him, and some of the other teachers, gave me the creeps.

Getting up, I left the canteen. As I walked, I heard footsteps behind me. "It can't be that bad here."

"It's not. I just don't like schools. They remind me too much of prisons."

"School couldn't be that bad for you."

"Imagine being the weird girl, the outcast, for your entire school career. The bullying and all, school was the worst for me."

"Good thing you aren't in school anymore," he said with a smile. I nodded and we walked into the staff room.

I sat at a table while the Doctor spoke to another teacher. I listened, not really paying too much attention. "Yesterday, I had a twelve year old girl give me the exact height of the Walls of Troy… in _cubits_."

"And, it's ever since the new headmaster arrived?"

"Finch arrived three months ago. Next day, half the staff got flu. Finch replaced them with that lot, except for the teacher you replaced, and that was just plain weird, her winning the lottery like that."

"How exactly is that weird?" I questioned, glancing up at the men, mainly giving the Doctor a knowing look.

"She never played. Said the ticket was posted through her door at midnight. And the teacher you replaced, Ms. Tyler, we all saw him retiring but in the middle of the term?"

The Doctor gave me a thoughtful glance. "Hmm. The world is very strange." As he said that, the headmaster entered the room.

"Excuse me, colleagues. A moment of your time." I watched as the Doctor turned, his eyes almost glazed over. "May I introduce Miss Sarah Jane Smith. Miss Smith is a journalist who's writing a profile about me for the Sunday Times." I saw his lips turn up. "I thought it might be useful for her to get a view from the trenches, so to speak. Don't spare my blushes." With that the man left the room. I looked up at the Doctor to see him fondly smiling at the woman.

She spotted us, walking over with a smile of her own. "Hello."

"Oh, I should think so."

"And, you are?"

"Hm? Er, Smith. John Smith. This is Cerys Tyler."

"John Smith. I used to have a friend who sometimes went by that name."

"It's quite a common name," I replied with a small smile as I shook her hand.

"He was a very… uncommon man. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you. Yes, very nice. More than nice. Brilliant." I chuckled at him, wishing I knew the story as to how he knew the woman.

"Er, so, er, have you worked here long?"

"No. Er, it's only our second day."

"Oh, you're new, then. So, what do you think of the school? I mean, this new curriculum? So many children getting ill. Doesn't that strike you as odd?"

"Sounds like you're doing a profile."

"Well, no harm in a little investigation while I'm here."

"No. Good for you." Miss Smith gave the Doctor another glance before walking away. The Doctor was grinning madly. "Good for you. Oh, good for you, Sarah Jane Smith."

"I take it you know her."

"She was a companion."

"I just _met_ a companion of yours?" He nodded, his eyes a bit cautious. "That's great! I can't wait to talk to her some more."

"Really?"

"Yeah. She can tell me about all those adventures the two of you went on. It'll be fun."

"Right," the Doctor replied as we left.

Once the day had ended, Rose the Doctor and I returned to the Tardis. I was happy to change out of the professional attire and into my comfy jeans, combat boots, and oversized hoodie, with the leather jacket. I caught the Doctor staring at me a few times as we waited in the Tardis. When the school was empty of children, we slipped out of the Tardis and into the corridor where we met Mickey. He had entered the school only a few hours ago and waited in the Tardis with us.

"Oh, it's weird seeing school at night. It just feels wrong," Rose explained. "When I was a kid, I used to think all the teachers slept in school." I chuckled at her, earning a playful nudge.

"All right, team. Oh, I hate people who say team. Er, gang. Er, comrades. Anyway, Rose, go to the kitchen. Get a sample of that oil. Mickey, the new staff are all Maths teachers. Go and check out the Maths department. Cerys and I are going to look in Finch's office. Be back here in ten minutes," the Doctor said before he grabbed my arm and pulled me along with him before I could argue. It reminded me so much of the time we had dealt with Margaret… Blon, the Slitheen.

After a quick walk around, especially after hearing a bit of screeching, the Doctor pulled me back to the Tardis saying someone had seen it. I shot him a worried glance and let him lead the way back. As we reached, we saw a woman backing out of the storeroom it had been hidden in. I instantly recognized her as the Doctor's old companion. "Hello, Sarah Jane."

"It's you. Oh, Doctor. Oh my God, it's you, isn't it. You've regenerated."

"Yeah. Half a dozen times since we last met."

"You look… incredible." I groaned at the boost to his already enormous ego.

"So do you."

"Huh," she snorted, "I got old. What are you doing here?"

"Well, UFO sighting, school gets record results. I couldn't resist. What about you?"

"The same. I thought you'd died," she said, her face scrunching up. I could see tears starting to form as well. I wanted to comfort her but I couldn't, knowing that he needed to do so. Instead, I took a few steps away, giving them some privacy. While I had stepped away, I could still hear their conversation. "I waited for you and you didn't come back, and I thought you must have died."

"I lived. Everyone else died."

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone died, Sarah."

"I can't believe it's you," she said before there was a high-pitched scream.

"What about now?" I asked with a laugh.

She joined in. "Okay, now I can!"

As the three of us took off, we bumped into Rose, skidding to a stop. "Did you hear that?" She turned to Sarah Jane, looking her up and down. "Who's she?"

"Rose, Sarah Jane. Sarah Jane, Rose."

"Hi. Nice to meet you." Sarah Jane held out her hand for Rose to shake, the Doctor looking excited at them meeting but Rose not so much. "You can tell you're getting older. Your assistants are getting younger." He rubbed the back of his head as I barked out a laugh before mock glaring at her as she innocently smiled at me.

"We're _not_ his assistants."

"No? Get you tiger."

The four of us found Mickey in a classroom breathing heavily. The cupboard behind him was open and he was scrambling to pick up small, clear packages. He turned when he heard us coming. "Sorry! Sorry, it was only me. You told me to investigate, so I started looking through some of these cupboards and all of these fell on me."

"Oh my God, they're rats. Dozens of rats. Vacuum packed rats."

"And you decided to scream?"

"It took me by surprise?"

"Like a little girl?"

"It was dark! I was covered in rats."

I tutted, shaking my head as I laughed at him. "I'm thinking nine year old girl. I can even see the pigtails and a pink frilly skirt," I teased.

The Doctor laughed along with me while Rose glared at me darkly, irritated. "Hello, can we focus? Does anyone notice anything strange about this? Rats in school?"

"Well, obviously they use them in Biology lessons. They dissect them. Or maybe you haven't reached that bit yet. How old are you?" I sobered up, seeing that the Doctor had as well. We watched the two with worried expressions, not knowing where this would lead.

"Excuse me, no one dissects rats in school anymore. They haven't done that for _years_. Where are you from, the dark ages?"

I rolled my eyes annoyed by the bickering. Some part of me probably felt that Rose felt the same way when the Doctor and I had our squabbles but this was something different. I didn't really understand why she had an issue with Sarah Jane. The Doctor, finally decided enough had been said and that nothing more should be said, took charge. "Anyway, moving on. Everything started when Mister Finch arrived. We should go and check his office." He tossed the rat in his hand at Mickey and pulled me with him as he walked out of the room, the others following closely.

We all walked to the office. Rose was glaring daggers at the woman. "I don't mean to be rude or anything-"

"Yes you do," I interrupted.

She rolled her eyes at me. "Who exactly are you?"

"Sarah Jane Smith. I used to travel with the Doctor."

The two women walked ahead of us. "Oh. Well he's never mentioned you."

"Oh, I must've done. Sarah Jane. Mention her all the time." He brought his hand up, rubbing his nose. I glanced at him and shook my head at his weak attempt. I couldn't help but feel that if Rose and I ever left, he'd never speak of us either.

"Hold on," Rose said, pretending to think. "Sorry. Never."

"What, not even once? He didn't mention me even once?" I watched Rose pull ahead of the woman and from her posture, I knew she felt as if she'd won.

I went and put a comforting arm on her shoulder. "It's probably because he doesn't want us to feel intimidated by the shoes we're filling. I'm pretty sure you were fantastic, one of his best companions." Sarah Jane smiled, taking a bit of comfort in my words.

"Ho, ho, mate. The missus and the ex. Welcome to every man's worst nightmare."

"Shut it, Mickey," I snapped before turning back to Sarah. Rose wasn't with the Doctor and the insinuation kind of brought up thoughts of inadequacy, that maybe Rose was better with him than I was.

When were outside Finch's office, the Doctor soniced the lock. "Maybe those rats were food."

"Food for what?"

The Doctor poked his head through the open door. "Rose, you know you used to think all the teachers slept in the school? Well, they do." We all looked up to see giant bats hanging from the ceiling.

"No way!" Mickey cried before he took off down the corridor. We all followed promptly, the Doctor taking the rear.

We stood out in the schoolyard for a while collecting our breaths. I was a bit shaken but I was more curious about the creatures and why they were at the school. "I am _not_ going back in there. No way," Mickey said.

"Those were teachers."

"When Finch arrived, he brought with him seven new teachers, four dinner ladies and a nurse. Thirteen. Thirteen big bat people. Come on." The Doctor turned and started to walk back inside. I was dragged along since he still had a hold on my hand. Rose and Sarah Jane however, willingly followed him. While I was curious, I did not want to jump head first into anything without knowing what we were up against, something the Doctor seemed to constantly do to my dislike.

"Come on? You've got to be kidding!"

"I need the Tardis. I've got to analyse that oil from the kitchen."

"I might be able to help you there. I've got something to show you." We all followed Sarah Jane as she led us to the car park. Once at her car, she popped the boot, and the Doctor removed a green blanket from something, showing us a metal dog with satellites for ears.

"K9!" the Doctor said happily. "Rose Tyler, Cerys, and Mickey Smith, allow me to introduce K9. Well, K9 Mark Three to be precise."

"Why does he look so disco?"

"Oi! Listen, in the year five thousand, this was cutting edge," he retorted before turning his attention to Sarah Jane, "What's happened to him?"

"Oh, one day," she shrugged, "he just, nothing."

"Well, didn't you try and get him repaired?"

"Well, it's not like getting parts for a Mini Metro. Besides, the technology inside him could rewrite human science. I couldn't show him to anyone."

"Ooh, what's the nasty lady done to you, eh?" He rubbed the dog, scratching behind its ears and trying to get it to respond. He even took my hand and made me pet the thing.

"Look, no offence, but could you two just stop petting for a minute? Never mind the tin dog. We're busy."

"Quit it, Rose," I snapped, nudging her in the side as she glared at me but shut up. The Doctor shut the boot and the five of us getting in the car.

* * *

_I am soooooo very sorry for the extremely late update. I have been going through some personal things and with working nights and sleeping during the day, I've had little to no time for writing. I actually had to rewrite this chapter because I wanted to add a bit more to it and at least attempt to throw in some Cerys/Doctor fluff because I kind of missed it, especially since the previous chapter had none of it. But for everyone who stood by the story, thank you so much. The same goes to my wonderful reviewers. I appreciate you all so much. But anyways, onto the reviews.  
_

_**NicoleR85:** So glad you loved the chapter. I felt bad for her too and the Doctor is so ugh but I can promise you that it will be getting much worse ;D_

_**I'm-a-Klaus-addict:** The feels are great and are only getting greater. Well of course you're creative and even if you're a little low on the creativity, keep on writing. It may not be amazing but I am completely sure that you can and will get those juices flowing full force. So yes, the Chameleon Arch, that is a big kicker and unfortunately, I can't answer the questions. It'll be revealed soon though. As for what the girl is, it's one part Time Lord, two parts old Who aliens ;) _


	26. New Friendships Forged

Sarah Jane, the Doctor, and I were sitting at a coffee shop table with K9 while Rose and Mickey were at the counter. I watched as the Doctor fiddled with K9's wires, trying to fix the dog, him and Sarah Jane talking while I listened a bit. "I thought of you on Christmas Day. This Christmas just gone? Great big spaceship overhead. I thought, oh yeah, bet he's up there."

"Right on top of it, yeah. Me and Cerys."

"And Rose?"

"She was there too."

She smiled but it quickly dropped. "Did I do something wrong, because you never came back for me. You just dumped me."

"Do you want me to go? So you can talk in private?"

"No it's fine, Cerys," Sarah Jane replied with a smile. I nodded, sitting back in my seat and tried not to pay attention to their conversation, looking out the window to distract myself.

"I told you. I was called back home and in those days humans weren't allowed."

"I waited for you. I missed you."

"Oh, you didn't need me. You were getting on with your life."

"You _were_ my life." I watched his smile fade. I really wanted to let them have their talk in private but every time I moved to get up, the Doctor would stop working and give me one of his looks, one that practically begged me to stay and each time, I'd sigh and sit back down. "You know what the most difficult thing was? Coping with what happens next, or with what doesn't happen next. You took me to the furthest reaches of the galaxy, you showed me supernovas, intergalactic battles, and then you just dropped me back on Earth. How could anything compare to that?"

"All those things you saw… you- you want me to apologize for that?" he asked, confused.

"No, but we get a taste of that splendour and then we have to go back."

"Look at you, you're investigating. You found that school. You're doing what we always did."

"You could have come back."

"I couldn't."

"Why not?" The Doctor looked away from her and kept working on K9, not answering the question. I knew what that meant, as did Sarah Jane seeing as she dropped the conversation with a heavy sigh. "It wasn't Croydon. Where you dropped me off, that wasn't Croydon."

"Where was it?"

"Aberdeen."

"Right. That's next to Croydon, isn't it?" She fondly smiled and shook her head. Suddenly, K9 came to life. "Oh, hey. Now we're in business."

"Master."

"He recognizes me."

"Affirmative."

"Rose, give us the oil," he called to her.

She came over, handing him the capsule. "I wouldn't touch it, though. That dinner lady got all scorched."

"I'm no dinner lady. And I don't say that often." He dabbed his hand in and smeared it on K9's outstretched probe that retracted when he had finished. "Here we go. Come on, boy. Here we go."

"Oil. Ex-ex-ex-extract. Ana-ana-analysing."

"Listen to him, man. That's a voice," Mickey laughed.

"Careful. That's my dog."

"Confirmation of analysis. Substance is Krillitane Oil."

"They're Krillitanes."

"Is that bad?"

"Very. Think of how bad things could possibly be, and add another suitcase full of bad."

"And what are… Krillitanes?"

"They're a composite race. Just like your culture is a mixture of traditions from all sorts of countries, people you've invaded or have been invaded by. You've got bits of Viking, bits of France, bits of whatever. The Krillitanes are the same. An amalgam of the races they've conquered. But they take physical aspects as well. They cherry pick the best bits from the people they destroy. That's why I didn't recognize them. The last time I saw Krillitanes, they looked just like us except they had really long necks."

"What're they doing?"

"It's the children. They're doing something to the children."

With that we stood to leave the shop. I watched Mickey and Sarah Jane placed K9 in the boot of Sarah's car before turning and having their own conversation. Rose had cornered the Doctor, most likely to question him. "How many of us have there been travelling with you?" she asked as we walked outside.

"Does it matter?"

"Yeah, it does, if we're just the latest in a long line."

"As opposed to what?"

"I thought you and me were mates. I obviously got it wrong. I've been to the year five billion, right, but this? Now this is really seeing the future. You just leave us behind. Is that what you're going to do to me and Cerys?"

"No. Not to you, and not Cerys."

"I figured you wouldn't leave her," she said with a small smile. "But, you left Sarah Jane and you're going to leave me too? You were that close to her and you never mention her. Are you never going to mention me?"

"I don't age. I regenerate. But humans decay. You wither and you die. Imagine watching that happen to someone that you-"

"What, Doctor? Cerys it human too! "

"She's different."

I glanced at him. "Doctor…"

"You can spend the rest of your life with me, but I can't spend the rest of mine with you. I have to live on. Alone. That's the curse of the Time Lords."

"Time Lord." I heard a voice say. I looked up and saw a giant bat swoop down towards me. I ducked, as did everyone else. Straightening up, I let out a relieved sigh.

"Was that a Krillitane?"

"But it didn't even touch her," Rose said, pulling me to her. "It just flew off. What did it do that for?"

"It doesn't matter," I said before turning to Sarah Jane. "I know we just met but we can't really reach the Tardis. Would you mind lodging us for the night? I'll pay for whatever he damages."

"Of course," the woman said with a hearty laugh as she led us to her car.

The moment we reached Sarah's home, I collapsed on the couch. Sarah Jane had insisted I take a room but I refused, not wanting to make too much of a fuss about it. After she realized she couldn't change my mind, Sarah Jane retrieved a comforter and draped it over me. I thanked her and closed my eyes, trying to go asleep.

I laid there for what felt like hours when I heard someone enter the room. Sitting up, I saw that it was just the Doctor. I figured he wouldn't be asleep, seeing as he rarely slept as it was. It seemed like the only time he did sleep was when I forced him to, which only happened once or twice a week. "What is it?"

"Nothing. Just checking on you. Just finished with Rose and Mickey. How come you aren't sleeping?"

"I'm not that tired." I pulled my legs up, giving him room to sit. "Why did you tell Rose that?"

"It's the truth. You are different."

"Rose wants to stay with you."

"Do you?"

"Yes, but I don't want to lose Rose… no matter what. She's my sister."

"I understand."

"She feels threatened by Sarah Jane, not for her sake really. I think she's looking out for me but she's just like mum, instead of showing worry, they go on the defensive."

"I know. Do you feel threatened by the Sarah Jane Smith? She was one of my best companions, you know."

I laughed, knowing he added the last bit to try and get a reaction from me. "No. You aren't mine and it would be silly for me to feel that way. Besides, I think it's a treat to finally meet a companion of yours. It gives us some insight on who you were… who you are." I looked up to find the Doctor beaming at me. "What?"

"Nothing. I'll let you sleep. Goodnight, Cerys."

I laid back down as he stood. "Yeah… night."

After a quick breakfast, we all returned to the school around the same time the students were. "Cerys, Rose, and Sarah, you go to the Maths room. Crack open those computers, I need to see the hardware inside. Here, you might need this." Rose held out her hand for the sonic screwdriver but he handed it to Sarah Jane instead. I watched as she glared at the woman before rolling her eyes. "Mickey, surveillance. I want you outside."

"Just stand outside?"

"Here, take these and keep K9 company," Sarah Jane smiled as she tosses her car keys to him.

"Don't forget to leave the window open a crack."

"But he's metal!"

"I didn't mean for him."

"What're you going to do?"

"It's time I had a word with Mister Finch," the Doctor replied before we walked off. Once he was gone, Mickey returned to the car and Sarah, Rose and I went to the Maths room.

Sarah was under the table trying to sonic the wires to no avail as Rose sat on a chair beside her and I watched. Rose grinned at her smugly while I bent down to see if I could help. Sarah shook her head and stood, pressing keys on the computer. "It's not working."

"Give it to me," Rose said, taking it from her.

"Used to work first time in my day."

"Well, things were a lot simpler back then."

"Rose, can I give you a bit of advice?"

"I've got the feeling you're about to."

"I know how intense a relationship with the Doctor can be, and I don't want you to feel I'm intruding."

"I don't feel threatened by you, if that's what you mean."

"Nor do I, honestly. It's an honour to meet you," I said with a smile.

"Right. Good. Because I'm not interested in picking up where we left off."

"No? With the big sad eyes and the robot dog? What else were you doing last night?" I sighed and took the sonic from Rose, getting down to work on the computer myself.

"I was just saying how hard it was adjusting to life back on Earth."

"The thing is, when you two met they'd only just got rid of rationing. No wonder all that space stuff was a bit too much for you."

"_I_ had no problem with space stuff. I saw things you wouldn't believe."

"Please don't start this up," I begged.

They ignored me. "Try me."

"Mummies."

"We've met ghosts."

"Robots. Lots of robots."

"Slitheen, in Downing Street."

"Daleks!"

"Met the Emperor."

"Anti-matter monsters."

"Gas masked zombies."

"Real living dinosaurs."

"Real living werewolf."

"_The Loch Ness Monster_!"

I turned my attention to Sarah Jane. "Wait, seriously?" Sarah nodded. "That's amazing."

"Seriously? Listen to us. It's like me and my mate Shireen. The only time we fell out was over a man, and we're arguing over the Doctor and I don't even want the man." I smiled, knowing she was doing this for me. Standing up, I gave her a quick hug.

"You and the Doctor, Cerys?"

"I don't know what I mean to him, but I _might_ love him. I think I have for a while."

"She just has to tell him that."

"You should! Don't listen when he tells you it can't work."

"I don't think he cares if I'm human, to be honest. But can we please change the subject?"

The women nodded, Rose quickly starting up, tucking her hair behind her ear. "With you, did he do that thing where he'd explain something at like, ninety miles per hour, and you'd go, 'what?' and he'd look at you like you'd just dribbled on your shirt?"

"All the time. Does he still stroke bits of the Tardis?"

"Yep," I replied happy that the conversation had shifted. "Sometimes I wonder if he wants to be alone with it."

The three of us burst into laughter. As we laughed, the Doctor entered. "How's it going?" We kept on laughing. "What?"

"Listen, I need to find out what's programmed inside these."

"Can't. Deadlocked," I managed to get out between my laughs.

"What? Stop it!"

We finally stopped laughing as the Doctor strode over and took his sonic from me. As he did that, Rose went to the door, turning kids away from the room we were in. The Doctor had wires looped around his neck and shoulders as he tried to get into the CPU. "I can't shift it."

"I thought the sonic screwdriver could open anything!"

"It can," I told her, "besides a deadlock seal."

"There's got to be something inside here." He lifted up the piece and examined it. "What're they teaching those kids?"

I looked up to see that the screens were on and showing green symbols. Sarah Jane saw as well. "You wanted the program? There it is."

The Doctor looked up, looking at it. "Some sort of code." He continued to examine it for a moment. "No. No, that can't be."

"Doctor… how come I can recognize what that is?"

He glanced at me, concerned before turning back to the screen. "The Skasis Paradigm. They're trying to crack the Skasis Paradigm."

"The Skasis what?"

"The God maker. It's the universal theory. If you can crack that equation, you have control over the universe's building blocks. You'd have control over time space and matter," I said before the Doctor could. The three of them stared at me, Rose and Sarah Jane more in disbelief.

"What and the kids are like a giant computer?"

"Yes. And their learning power is being accelerated by the oil. That oil from the kitchens, it works as a, as a conducting agent. Makes the kids cleverer."

"But that oil's on the chips. I've been eating them."

"What's fifty nine times thirty five?"

"Two thousand and sixty five," Rose answered instantly. "Oh, my God."

"But why use children? Can't they use adults?"

The Doctor looked at me, letting me answer. "It's the children's imaginations and that's what is needed to crack the God maker. They're using their souls."

Just then Finch walked in, eyeing me curiously. "How is it that a human has such knowledge? Unless… she isn't human at all."

My rolled my eyes at him but I kept my composure. A part of me wanted to slap the smirk off his face. "Leave her out of this."

He turned his attention to the Doctor. "It seems as if you have taken the role of her protector. How… charming. Anyways, let the lesson begin. Think of it, Doctor. With the Paradigm solved, reality becomes clay in our hands." Finch walked towards us. "We can shape the universe and improve it."

"Oh yeah? The whole of creation with the face of Mister Finch? Call me old fashioned, but I like things as they are."

"You _act_ like such a radical, and yet all you want to do is preserve the old order? Think of the changes that could be made if this power was used for good."

"What, by someone like you?"

"No, someone like _you_. The Paradigm gives us power, but you could give us wisdom. Become a God at my side. Imagine what you could do. Think of the civilisations you could save. Perganon, Assinta. Your own people, Doctor, standing tall. The Time Lords… reborn."

I stared at Finch angrily, knowing exactly what the man was doing. He was trying to entice the Doctor into his bidding. Sarah Jane also saw. "Doctor, don't listen to him."

"And you could be with him throughout eternity. Young, fresh, never wither, never age, never die. Their lives are so fleeting. So many goodbyes. How lonely you must be, Doctor. Join us."

"I could save everyone."

"Yes."

"I could stop the war."

I glared at the Doctor as he said that before turning my gaze to Finch. It had taken practically all my self-control to keep from hurting the man but the fact that he used the Doctor's loneliness as an opening, irritated the hell out of me. It was a low blow in my book and I refused to let him get away with it. I stormed over to him and punched him square in the jaw. He looked at me, dazed before his expression changed to anger. I stood my ground for a moment before I was pulled away. I began to protest but I saw the look Rose was giving me and shut up. I would have preferred not to endure her wrath. "No. The universe has to move forward. Pain and loss, they define us as much as happiness or love. Whether it's a world, or a relationship, everything has its time. And everything ends," I heard Sarah Jane say. I smiled at her words, knowing how true they were. Turning my attention back to Finch, I smugly smiled, not even fazed by the pure fury that littered his expression. There was a smash and a hand took mine.

"Out!" the Doctor said as he pulled me out of the room.

As we ran down the stairs, we ran into Mickey and a student. "What is going on?" he asked as we ran to the canteen.

The boy looked up seeing the bats flying around Finch. "Are they my teachers?"

"Yeah. Sorry."

"We need the Doctor alive. As for the others? You can feast."

The Krillitanes swooped down at us but we hid under tables, although the Doctor had picked up a chair and was madly swinging at them. Suddenly there was a beam of light and one of the bats fell. Finch let out a high pitched scream. "K9!"

"Suggest you engage running mode, mistress."

"Come on!" We took off at full speed, hastily making our way out of the room.

"K9, hold them back!"

"Affirmative, master. Maximum defence mode."

Once the Doctor was out, he sealed the door and we ran to the physics lab. Once there, we caught our breaths. He spun at me, irately giving me a look. "_Don't_ you do that again."

"He deserved it," I muttered before slapping his arm. "And you were an idiot for even going along with it."

He sheepishly smiled at me before turning to everyone else. "It's the oil. Krillitane life forms can't handle the oil. That's it! They've changed their physiology so often, even their own oil is toxic to them. How much was there in the kitchens?"

"Barrels of it," Rose replied, a smile playing on her lips.

The Krillitanes were banging at the door, breaking it down. "Okay, we need to get to the kitchens. Mickey."

"What now, hold the coats?"

"Get all the children unplugged and out of the school. Now then, bats, bats, bats. How do we fight bats?"

Suddenly the fire alarm went off. Just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. We all ran out to the canteen, with Mickey going to the classrooms. When we were outside of it, we found K9. "Master."

"Come on, boy. Good boy." K9 came and we all entered the kitchen. Once in the kitchen, the Doctor soniced the barrels of oil but they wouldn't open. "They've been deadlock sealed. Finch must've done that. I can't open them."

"The vats would not withstand a direct hit from my laser, but my batteries are failing."

"Right. Everyone out the back door. K9, stay with me." As the others left, I stayed in my spot. "You have to go, Cerys."

"But you're…"

"I'll be fine."

"You always leave me in the end," I sadly stated.

The Doctor stopped and stared at me for a moment before he grabbed my waist and pulled me to him. He dropped a kiss on my forehead before hungrily attacking my lips. Pulling away, he pushed me to the door. I walked out, keeping my face an emotionless mask so that the others would not know how I felt.

Leaning against the wall, I looked up as the door opened and the Doctor came out. He quickly sealed the door but before he could do anything else, Sarah Jane rounded on him. "Where's K9?"

"We need to run."

"Where is he? What have you done?!" He grabbed her and pulled her away from the school.

"Come on, guys. Let's go, let's go! Run."

We ran until we were a good distance away. As the school blew up, I placed my arm around Sarah Jane. "I'm sorry," the Doctor said.

"It's all right. He was just a daft metal dog. It's fine, really." She burst into tears, turning into me. I comforted her best I could before we walked to the Tardis.

Reaching it, the Doctor unlocked the door, walking in for a bit and coming back out. Rose and Mickey had gone in after him while I remained with Sarah. "Cup of tea?" he asked her. I smiled at the woman and pulled her inside.

Her eyes lit up in wonder. "You've redecorated."

"Do you like it?"

She walked around, admiring the Tardis. "Oh, I, I do. Yeah. I preferred it as it was, but er, yeah. It'll do."

"I love it."

I chuckled. "I quite like it."

Sarah smiled and turned to Rose. "Hey, you what's forty seven times three hundred and sixty nine?"

"No idea. It's gone now. The oil's faded," Rose replied with a shrug.

"But you're still clever. More than a match for him." Rose beamed and walked over to Mickey, leaving Sarah and me. "You're worth it, you know." I shrugged. "You are. You're perfect for him."

I smiled at the woman, thankful for her words even if it left me feeling a bit awkward and my cheeks a bit heated. "Thank you, Sarah Jane."

"Er, we're about to head off, but you could come with us."

"No. I can't do this anymore." The Doctor's face fell. "Besides, I've got a much bigger adventure ahead. Time I stopped waiting for you and found a life of my own."

"Can I come?" I turned to face Mickey, surprised by his question. "No, not with you," he clarified, motioning to Sarah Jane and then the Doctor. "I mean with you. Because I'm not the tin dog, and I want to see what's out there."

"Oh, go on, Doctor. Sarah Jane Smith, a Mickey Smith. You need a Smith on board."

"Okay then, I could do with a laugh."

Mickey turned to her. "Rose, is that okay? Can I come?"

"No, great! Why not?" She replied as she intertwined their fingers, startling the man a bit. I smiled at her, happy she'd want Mickey along. While in the beginning, she'd left him, maybe this time she'd see that he was always there for her, something I've seen even with my slight dislike of the man. In the end, he was loyal to her and I was glad she had someone and that she was starting to recognise it herself.

"Find me, if you need to, one day," Sarah Jane said giving me a hug before doing the same for Rose. "Find me."

"We will." With that, the Doctor and Sarah Jane left the Tardis. Once they were gone, I turned to face Mickey. "Look, I know we haven't really gotten on in the past but I'm willing to start over, try to be friends or at least civil. What do you say?" He nodded, giving me a small smile. Returning it, I left the console room for the library.

I sat in my spot reading a favourite of mine, _The Castaways of the Flying Dutchman_. I was a bit surprised to find a copy in the Tardis library but I chalked it up to the Tardis' telepathic field. It was nice to find a book I loved, seeing as I had left my ripped and thoroughly used copy at home. Getting comfortable before the fire, I opened up to the first page.

Forty five minutes later, I started part two of the book. As I reached chapter twelve, I saw someone sit next to me from my peripherals, content that it was the Doctor. He was silent for a while but I could feel his eyes on me. I ignored it, not wanting to be distracted from the book. It was a pet peeve of mine, being interrupted in the middle of a favourite read. Rose had often been the one to incur my wrath the times she had disturbed me. It seemed as though he sensed it and waited until I finally finished, which was an hour or so later. Shutting the book, I faced him, a content smile on my face. "What brings you away from your precious console?"

"I was looking for you."

"Well, you found me. How can I be of assistance?"

"Did you enjoy the book?" he asked, not answering my question.

"I always do. I have it memorized."

"Your favourite book," he speculated.

"Yep. What's it doing in your library though? Is it because of the Tardis' telepathic field?"

"I've had it for a while."

"Oh. It was hers… wasn't it?"

"Yes but I'm sure she'd be happy to find that you also enjoy her favourite book," he chuckled.

"I suppose. You didn't come here to talk about books though, did you?"

"No. I noticed the jacket."

"Yeah…"

"I quite like it on you."

"I like it on me too actually. It might possibly be my favourite jacket."

"Hmm," he smiled, wrapping an arm around my waist. "I also wanted to thank you."

"For what?"

"How you treated Sarah Jane."

"We already went through this, Doctor. She's amazing; I can see why you chose her as a companion."

"She is. My Sarah Jane."

I smiled and rested my head on his shoulder, just enjoying his company. As we sat there in comfortable silence, I felt myself begin to doze off. Forcing my eyes open, I moved to get up. The Doctor wrapped his other arm around my waist, keeping me on the floor. Pulling me to him, I returned to our previous position and let sleep take me.

* * *

_Yay, another chapter posted. This part was a lot easier which is why it's up so quick. As I post this, I'm combatting a migraine and have to get ready for work... at a fricking bar :/ I don't really want to go in today but ugh! Anyways, thanks for reading the story so far and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. As always, thanks for the reviews. _

_**I'm-a-Klaus-addict:** Yes I know. It's been a tough two/three weeks for me. I'm definitely trying to make the Doctor and Cerys' relationship rocky for the moment. While most can be, I want theirs to be the type that could make or break the future... if there is one for them. Hopefully I'm doing a good job at that. I also love Sarah Jane. One of my favourite old Who companions beside Ace. It was fun to write her in and have her and Cerys meet. While I kept Rose the same, I really felt that Cerys wasn't or wouldn't react that way due to her nature, hence her great attitude to meeting the amazing woman. Any time. As for Miami, I am having fun thanks. :)_


	27. The Girl in the Fireplace

When I woke, I was laying on my bed with the Doctor's arms around me. A smile crept across my lips before I turned to him. His eyes were open and he also donned a smile. It was nice, waking up next to him and I really wouldn't mind if it became a daily thing… not that I figured it would be. It was weird, a good weird, but weird all the same. I used to be so uncomfortable being in the same room with a man alone, none the less share the same bed but with the Doctor, minus a few instances, I felt completely at ease. Thoughts of that brought those pertaining to our relationship… or lack thereof. It was a rollercoaster, and while the highs were the best I'd ever experienced, the lows were just as intense. With his old self, Rose was always there to force us together but with this version of himself, there was nothing Rose could say that would lead to us making up. We were both too stubborn and in the end, needed to do things our own way instead of hers. Besides, while the Doctor eventually pursued to repair our fragmented relationship, I often kept to myself, deciding not to seek him out in fear that I'd ruin things further. I shook my head, attempting to clear my head before I glanced up at the Doctor. A smile littered his face as we made eye contact. I quickly reverted my gaze as my cheeks flared hot. I held in a breath as I felt his chest vibrate a bit, stunned for a moment until I realised he was chuckling. "Hello."

I peeked up at him, trying to hide my flushed cheeks. "Hi. Did you carry me here again?"

"Yes."

"And not leave."

"Ah, well…"

"It's fine," I laughed, waving it away. "So, where are we going today?"

"Where would you like to go?"

"It doesn't matter." He gave me a questioning look but I just rolled out of his embrace and stood, keeping my eyes locked on his. I never asked to go anywhere since the Kyoto incident. While it felt eons had passed since that trip, a minute part of me was still peeved that we were unable to stay a bit longer and I hadn't the chance to explore as I had wanted. But, I digress. "It's Mickey's first time. Why not set the Tardis on random?" He smiled and got out of my bed. I watched as he put on his trainers, a small tinge of sadness running through me. I really didn't want him to leave my bed. In fact, I wanted to drag him back into it and pull the covers over us and remain that way for the rest of the time. Yet even I knew that would never happen. I sighed as he placed a gentle kiss on my lips and quickly left the room for his precious console, not that I minded. A little bit of alone time would do me some good.

As I finished getting dressed, I felt the jolt that came along with the Tardis being landed. Tying up my hair, I exited my room and went to join the others. When I reached, the Doctor shot me a wink and Mickey gave me a smile. Excited, Mickey scrambled out of the Tardis, followed by Rose. As the Doctor and I went to meet them, I pulled him back and gave him a quick kiss. With that, I walked out, leaving him to follow after me, which he did, a few moments later.

Joining my friends, I watched as Mickey looked around in shock and maybe a bit of terror. Rose, the Doctor, and I exchanged a glance, amused by his awestruck expression. "It's a spaceship. Brilliant! I got a spaceship on my first go."

I looked around, noticing just how damaged the place was, with bits of equipment strewn around and wires hanging from the ceiling. "It looks abandoned. Anyone on board?" Rose commented.

"Nah, nothing here. Well, nothing dangerous. Well, not that dangerous. You know what, I'll just have a quick scan, in case there's anything dangerous."

"Doctor, everything is dangerous when you're around," I teased, lightly tapping his arm. He gave me a quick frown before kissing the top of my head and moving to a control panel, flipping switches.

Rose smiled at us and came over, placing her arm around my shoulder. "So, what's the date? How far we gone?"

The Doctor looked up at her and thought for a second before he answered. "About three thousand years into your future, give or take." He pulled up a cylinder lever on the console and turned it, bringing on the lights and opening up the skylight. Looking up, I saw that the ceiling showed the stars. A smile played across my face at the view. It was beautiful, there was no denying that. I couldn't wait to explore each one, learn their names and everything about them. That was one of the things I loved about travelling with the Doctor, there was never a dull moment and there was so much to learn and like the perfect student, I absorbed it all. "Fifty first century. Diagmar Cluster, you're a long way from home, Mickey. Two and a half galaxies."

"Mickey Smith, meet the universe," Rose said as she moved to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "See anything you like?"

"It's so realistic!"

I chuckled at the man but turned my attention to the Doctor as he made his way along the ship's console, pulling things from around it and tossing the bits back. "Dear me, had some cowboys in here. Got a ton of repair work going on. Now that's odd. Look at that." Rose and Mickey returned as we looked at a small screen that showed the ship and a red beam making its way down the projection. "All the warp engines are going." He dropped the bit in his hand and bent down to examine the monitor. "Full capacity. There's enough power running through this ship to punch a hole in the universe, but we're not moving." He looked up. "So where's all that power going?"

"Where'd all the crew go?"

"Good question. No life readings on board."

"Well, we're in deep space," Rose stated. "They didn't just nip out for a quick fag."

"No, I've checked all the smoking pods."

"Can you all smell that?" I asked.

"Yeah, someone's cooking."

"Sunday roast," Mickey nodded, "definitely."

The Doctor pressed another button and the door behind us opened. We turned, staring at the ominous gap before he grabbed my hand and the four of us walked into the room. On the far wall of the bleak and practically destroyed room, was an ornate fireplace with beautiful cherry wood and gold panelling. A clock stood on its mantel and a fire was set. "Well, there's something you don't see in your average spaceship. Eighteenth century." The Doctor ran in and pulled out the sonic screwdriver and began to scan the fireplace. "French. Nice mantle. Not a hologram. It's not even a reproduction. This actually is an eighteenth century French fireplace. Double sided. There's another room through there. "

Rose looked through a porthole, Mickey following her. "There can't be. That's the outer hull of the ship. Look."

"51st century ship, Rose… and we're with the Doctor," I said to her before bending down along with the Doctor and bringing my attention to the fireplace. On the other side of us, there was a young blonde girl in a white nightgown kneeling by the fire. "Hello." Rose and Mickey came to look as well.

"Hello."

"What's your name?"

"Reinette."

"Reinette, that's a lovely name. Can you tell us where you are at the moment, Reinette?" the Doctor asked.

"In my bedroom."

I chuckled at her response. "And where's your bedroom? Where do you live, Reinette?"

"Paris, of course."

"Paris, right!"

"Monsieur, Madam, what are you doing in my fireplace?"

"Oh, it's just a routine… fire check. Can you tell us what year it is?"

"Of course I can. Seventeen hundred and twenty seven," the child responded.

"Right, lovely. One of my favourites. August is rubbish though. Stay indoors. Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for your help. Hope you enjoy the rest of the fire. Night, night."

"Goodnight Monsieur. Goodnight Madam." I waved at the girl before standing, pulling the Doctor along with me.

"You said this was the fifty first century," Mickey stated.

"I also said this ship was generating enough power to punch a hole in the universe. I think we just found the hole. Must be a spatio-temporal hyperlink."

"What's that?"

"No idea. Just made it up. Didn't want to say magic door."

"So you decided to just confuse Mickey?" I derisively asked only to receive a kiss on the forehead.

"And on the other side of the _magic door_ is France in 1727?" Rose questioned.

"Well, she was speaking French. Right period French, too." He smiled at me before taking off his jacket. He started to examine the fireplace, linking his hand with mine. I didn't know how he could work with just one hand but every time I attempted to pull away, he held on tighter.

"She was speaking English, I heard her."

Rose wrapped her arm around Mickey. "That's the Tardis. Translates for you."

"Even French?"

"Yeah."

"Gotcha!" the Doctor exclaimed as he pulled me closer to him. Flipping the switch, the fireplace rotated, hearing Rose as she cried his name and we found ourselves in the young girl's bedroom. Walking around a bit, we looked out the window and saw it was snowing. She awoke with a start as a horse neighed. "It's okay. Don't scream. It's us. It's the fireplace man and his lovely assistant." I nudged him for calling me his assistant and he feigned pain before dropping a kiss on my head before he used the sonic to light a fire. "Look. We were talking just a moment ago. We were in your fireplace."

"Monsieur, that was weeks ago. That was months."

"Really? Oh." He walked back to the fireplace and tapped it. "Must be a loose connection. Need to get a man in."

"Who are you?" Reinette asked. What are you doing here?"

I looked around, hearing the ticking of a clock. I looked at the one on the mantelpiece to find it broken. I squeezed his hand and motioned to it. "Okay, that's scary."

"You're scared of a broken clock?" Reinette asked.

"Just a bit. The clock on your mantelpiece is broken and if it's the only clock in the room, then what's making that noise?" I started off.

There was more ticking. "Because, you see, that's not a clock. You can tell by the resonance." The Doctor walked towards the window and looked out. "Too big. Six feet, I'd say. The size of a man."

"You're scaring her," I muttered.

"What is it?"

"Now, let's think. If you were a thing that ticked and you were hiding in someone's bedroom, first thing you do, break the clock. No one notices the sound of one clock ticking, but two? You might start to wonder if you're really alone. Stay on the bed. Right in the middle. Don't put your hands or feet over the edge." The Doctor inched to the side of her bed and dropped down and waved the sonic screwdriver under the bed, only to be knocked backwards a moment later. He slowly got to his feet and grabbed the sonic. "Reinette," he whispered, "don't look around." I looked up to see a figure in an ornate smiling mask standing behind her. "You, stay exactly where you are," he said to the man before turning his attention to the young girl. "Hold still, let me look." He knelt down and took hold of Reinette's head and looked into her eyes. "You've been scanning her brain. What, you've crossed two galaxies and thousands of years just to scan a child's brain? What could there be in a little girl's mind worth blowing a hole in the universe?"

"I don't understand. It wants me?" She turned to it. "You want me?"

It tilted its head. "Not yet. You are incomplete."

"Incomplete? What's that mean, incomplete? You can answer her, you can answer me. What do you mean, incomplete?" He pointed the sonic at the clock man.

It walked around the bed, a blade coming out of its hand. "Doctor…"

"Monsieur, be careful."

"Just a nightmare, Reinette. Don't worry about it. Everyone has nightmares." The android slashed at him but he dodged. "Even monsters from under the bed have nightmares, don't you, monster?" He took my hand and pulled me to the fireplace. The droid swung again but its blade got stuck in the mantelpiece.

"What do monsters have nightmares about?"

The Doctor activated the button and the fireplace began to rotate. Before it had gone full circle, I gave the girl an answer. "Him."

"Doctor!" He nodded at Rose and released my hand. He then grabbed a gun like object from a rack and shot the contents at the android. After a while, it froze.

"Excellent. Ice gun."

He tossed the device to Rose. "It was a fire extinguisher, Mickey," I told him with a pat on the shoulder.

"Where is that thing come from?"

"Here."

"So why is it dressed like that?"

"Field trip to France. Some kind of basic camouflage protocol. Nice needlework, shame about the face." He removed the mask to reveal the clock. "Oh, you are beautiful!" He put on his bifocals. "No, really, you are. You're gorgeous! Look at that. Space age clockwork, I love it. I've got chills! Listen, seriously, I mean this from the heart, and, by the way, count those, it would be a crime… it would be an act of vandalism to disassemble you."

"Doctor."

He gave me a sheepish smile before returning to the android. "But that won't stop me." As he said that, the clockwork man beamed away. "Short range teleport. Can't have got far. Could still be on board."

"What is it?"

"Don't go looking for it!"

"Where're you going?

"Back in a sec," he said as he took my hand and pulled me back to the fireplace. He pulled the lever and we were returned to Paris. The room we found ourselves in, however, was not what we remembered. It was a big and very ornate split level with dark wood panelling and gold painted walls. "Reinette? Just checking you're okay."

He strummed a few notes on the harp. "Ahem."

We turned, seeing a young woman there in a blue and gold dress. "Oh. Hello. Er, I was just looking for Reinette. This is still her room, isn't it? I've been away, not sure how long." I let out an inaudible sigh as he stumbled over his words in front of the woman, a feeling on inadequacy rushing over me. She was obviously from wealth and of noble blood and while it probably meant little to the Doctor, I couldn't help but feel as though she'd be better for him.

I gently nudged him. "Hello, Reinette."

"Reinette! We're ready to go," a voice called out.

"Go to the carriage, Mother. I will join you there. It is customary, I think, to have imaginary friends only during one's childhood. You are to be congratulated on your persistence."

"Reinette. Well. Goodness, how you've grown."

"And you do not appear to have aged a single day." She walked over to us, or, more the Doctor. "That is tremendously impolite of you."

"Right, yes, sorry, uh. um. Listen, lovely to catch up, but better be off, eh? Don't want your mother finding you up here with a strange man and woman, do we?"

"Strange? How could you be a stranger to me? I've known you since I was seven years old."

"Yeah, I suppose you have. We came the quick route." She caressed his face. As she did so, I felt myself grow angry. He was _mine_ and I was the only one allowed to do that. It also hurt, not seeing him pull away from her. As the thought passed through me, I realised that it was wrong. He wasn't mine and I had no right to feel the way I did. Sighing, I looked away, barely missing the concerned glance the Doctor sent my way.

"You seem to be flesh and blood, at any rate, but this is absurd. Reason tells me you cannot be real."

"Oh, you never want to listen to reason."

"Mademoiselle! Your mother grows impatient."

"A moment! So many questions." I looked up. "So little time." I watched in disbelief as she kissed the Doctor, pushing him against the wall. My heart ached as he began to return the kiss. I hated it. I wanted him to know how I felt but that one action was enough to tell me how he felt, even with him saying I was special. He didn't want me. Why would he when he could have anyone in the world? Reinette was obviously more than I could ever compete with. Holding in a sob, I stood by the fireplace, waiting for him to finish.

"Mademoiselle Poisson!" Reinette ran out of the room and a servant entered.

"Poisson? Reinette Poisson? No! No, no, no, no, no way." He ran up to the man. "Reinette Poisson? Later Madame Etoiles? Later still mistress of Louis the Fifteenth, uncrowned Queen of France?" He walked back to the fireplace. "Actress, artist, musician, dancer, courtesan, fantastic gardener!"

"Who the _hell_ are you?!"

"I'm the Doctor and I just snogged Madame de Pompadour. Ha, ha!" he said as he grabbed my arm and activated the lever. Once we were on the other side, I pulled away from him and went to stand by the Tardis.

"Rose! Mickey! Every time." He turned to me. "Every time, it's rule one. Don't wander off. I tell them, I do." He walked off. "Rule one. There could be anything on this ship. You coming?" I glared at him but followed, walking past him as he held his hand out for me.

We walked for a while before we heard footsteps behind us. "Rose?" He turned and saw a white horse with a bridle and saddle. "Will you stop following us? She's not your mother." He went and opened a pair of white wooden doors and light flooded into the ship. "So this is where you came from, eh, horsey?" We walked into a garden to see Reinette and a friend talking. As the Doctor ducked, I returned through the doors to wait. I grimaced and sat against the wall until he returned and held his hand out to help me up. Slapping it away, I stood on my own and followed him through the corridors, ignoring the glances he shot at me as we walked.

* * *

_UGGHHHHH! I literally just had everything up and was about to finish my last review when I accidently clicked the exit tab button. I'm furious and don't even remember what I wrote before I reached the reviews. So, if they come out weird, I'm sorry. I'm a bit ticked but thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, and favourited Her Secrets._

_**idonothaveagentleheart1105:** Thanks for the review and I'm so glad you like Cerys. I really wanted her to be cool with Sarah Jane because it's not really in Cerys' nature to feel ownership over anything she knows or feels isn't hers. And she wants to know how the Doctor was prior to them meeting. But why do you want to hug/ slap Cerys? As for her life prior to London, it'll be brought up pretty soon. And don't worry about your English. It was fine, much better than some native speakers. :)_

_**I'm-a-Klaus-addict:** I'm sooo sorry but it is a possibility, especially with Army of Ghosts and Doomsday coming up. I honestly felt the same when I saw him. It was weird having him to watch him as the villain. As for the show, I knew about it but I don't know if I'd watch it... as much as I love him. I honestly barely watch tv shows unless they hit netflix and have a season or too I can binge on. Yep, I love writing the Terys moments and then destroying the extremely thin foundation they have. It's cruel but it does have a purpose. Thanks for the feel better. It lasted two days and the only thing I could attribute it to was the McDonalds I had after practically a year of being off it. But I'm much better now, just peeved haha._

_**tooker86:** So glad you're enjoying the story._

_**beula2013:** Well, glad you followed your instincts. Honestly, Cerys might have already had a dream with him in it. He also won't be saying anything for a while, just as she won't. While Cerys does talk to him about certain things, she doesn't really talk. It's almost like the Doctor, talking but never really saying anything. I will say that things will be revealed before the Ponds and Clara although Clara adds an entirely different mystery to the pot. The suspense will be over soon. :]_

_**MargaretMacDonald123:** Happy to see you're enjoying the story. I also love when OCs are nice to Sarah Jane. _

_**IfLifeWereSilly:** That's cool. I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far and I hope you continue to. That was one of my main things about writing this story to be honest. While every writer is different, I personally feel that with those who automatically plunge into a relationship with the Doctor is unrealistic. And I know that this is fanfiction so it's not meat to be realistic and such but I do like to add that bit in when it comes to romantic relationships, whether in fanfiction or in my regular stories. Thanks and she's one of my favourite characters to date. The suicidal tendencies (or other traumatic experiences) are something I add to all or most of my characters, just my style since I like to add some personal aspects to my characters but I get what you mean. Thanks for the review. I honestly appreciate it. :}_


	28. Nothing but a Broken Heart

When we found Rose and Mickey, they were looking through the two way mirror, staring at a man as he primped himself. "Blimey, look at this guy. Who does he think he is?"

"The King of France."

"Oh, here's trouble. What have you been up to?" Rose asked, her question aimed at me, a sly smirk on her lips. I rolled my eyes and looked away, silently seething. While I often confided in Rose, the feeling I currently had was one I wanted to keep to myself. While I knew it would have been better in the long run, I didn't want anyone, including her, to know what happened or how I felt.

"Oh, this and that," the Doctor replied. "Became the imaginary friends of a future French aristocrat, picked a fight with a clockwork man." The horse neighed, standing in the doorway. "Oh, and we met a horse."

"What's a horse doing on a spaceship?"

"Mickey, what's pre-Revolutionary France doing on a spaceship? Get a little perspective. See these? They're all over the place. On every deck. Gateways to history. But not just any old history." We watched as Reinette entered the room and curtsied to the King. "Hers. Time windows deliberately arranged along the life of one particular woman. A spaceship from the fifty first century stalking a woman from the eighteenth. Why?"

"Who is she?"

The Doctor looked at me to answer but I shrugged. He furrowed his brows but answered Rose's question. "Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, known to her friends as Reinette. One of the most accomplished women who ever lived."

"So has she got plans of being the Queen, then?"

"No, he's already got a Queen. She's got plans of being his mistress."

"Oh, I get it. Camilla," Rose and Mickey laughed.

"I think this is the night they met. The night of the Yew Tree ball. In no time at flat, she'll get herself established as his official mistress, with her own rooms at the palace. Even her own title. Madame de Pompadour." The King and his servants left and Reinette went to preen in the mirror.

"The Queen must have loved her," Rose muttered, gently nudging me. I glanced at her before I walked away and leaned against the wall.

"Oh, she did. They get on very well."

"The King's wife and the King's girlfriend?" Mickey asked.

The Doctor turned to Mickey and shrugged his shoulders. "France. It's a different planet."

I ignored them and watched the woman on the other side. Behind her, I noticed someone in the far corner and immediately felt as if the woman wasn't supposed to be there. As angry and hurt as I was, there was something after her and she needed help, whether or not it ended with me losing the Doctor. I watched as she turned, acknowledging the person in the corner of the room. "How long have you been standing there? Show yourself!" It turned, revealing itself to be a clockwork android. I watched as the Doctor grabbed the fire extinguisher from Mickey and opened the mirror door, the three walking in, leaving me on the ship. I couldn't help but feel as if in any life threatening situation, the Doctor wouldn't instantaneously rush into action. As the thought hit me, I held back a sob and wiped away a stray tear. I refused to show any weakness in regard to the situation. Shaking my head, I returned my attention to the mirror and watched the four.

"Hello, Reinette. Hasn't time flown?"

"Fireplace man!" The Doctor sprayed the android and threw the extinguisher back to Mickey. The android began to creak.

"What's it doing?" Mickey questioned.

"Switching back on. Melting the ice."

"And then what?"

"Then it kills everyone in the room. Focuses the mind, doesn't it?" the Doctor turned back to the android. "Who are you? Identify yourself." He turned his attention from the android to Reinette. "Order it to answer me."

"Why should it listen to me?"

"I don't know. It did when you were a child. Let's see if you've still got it."

"Answer his question. Answer any and all questions put to you."

"I am repair droid seven."

"What happened to the ship? There was a lot of damage."

"Ion storm. Eighty two percent systems failure."

"The ship hasn't moved in over a year. What's taken you so long?"

"We did not have the parts."

"Always comes down to that, doesn't it? The parts," Mickey interjected with a chuckle.

"What happened to the crew? Where are they?"

"We did not have the parts."

"There should have been over fifty people on your ship. Where did they go?" My eyes widened as I realized that we smelled the crew, that the androids had used them to repair the ship.

"We did not have the parts."

"Fifty people don't just disappear. Where- Oh," the Doctor replied, coming to the same conclusion I had. "You didn't have the parts, so you used the crew."

"The crew?"

"We found a camera with an eye in it, and there was a heart wired in to machinery."

"It was just doing what it was programmed to. Repairing the ship any way it can, with whatever it could find. No one told it the crew weren't on the menu. What did you say the flight deck smelt of?"

"Someone cooking," Rose muttered.

"Flesh plus heat. Barbeque. But what are you doing here? You've opened up time windows. That takes colossal energy. Why come here? You could have gone to your repair yard. Instead you come to eighteenth century France? Why?"

"One more part is required."

"Then why haven't you taken it?"

"She is incomplete."

"What, so, that's the plan, then. Just keep opening up more and more time windows, scanning her brain, checking to see if she's done yet."

"Why her?" Rose asked before glancing at the Doctor and then through the glass, almost as if she were gazing at me. "You've got all of history to choose from. Why specifically her?"

"We are the same."

"We are not the same. We are in no sense the same."

"We are the same."

"Get out of here. Get out of here this instant!"

"Reinette, no." The android teleported back to the ship. "It's back on the ship. Rose, take Mickey and Arthur. Get after it. Follow it. Don't approach it, just watch what it does."

"Arthur?"

"Good name for a horse."

"No, you're not keeping the horse."

"I let you keep Mickey. Now go! Go! Go!" The Doctor closed the mirror behind Rose and Mickey. The pair looked at me before they took off, leaving the horse behind. Arthur stayed with me, placing his head on my shoulder as I sadly watched the Doctor and Reinette. "Reinette, you're going to have to trust me. I need to find out what they're looking for. There's only one way I can do that. It won't hurt a bit." He put his fingers on her temples.

The woman gasped. "Fireplace man, you are inside my mind."

"Oh dear, Reinette. You've had some cowboys in here."

"You are in my memories. You walk amongst them."

"If there's anything you don't want me to see, just imagine a door and close it. I won't look. Oh, actually there's a door just there. You might want to cl- oh, actually, several." The woman smirked and slyly eyed him. As I witnessed that, I felt a painful tinge in my chest. While he hadn't seen it, I knew the woman wanted him and while I had claimed he wasn't mine multiple times, it was more of a way to keep me from going insane. If anything, I greatly wanted him to be mine and mine alone. Yet I knew in regard to the Doctor, women would always be after his affections.

"To walk among the memories of another living soul. Do you ever get used to this?"

"I don't make a habit of it."

"How can you resist?"

"What age are you?"

"So impertinent a question so early in the conversation. How promising." I grit my teeth, not at all pleased by her suggestive tone.

"No, not my question, theirs. You're twenty three and for some reason, that means you're not old enough." She flinched. "Sorry, you might find old memories reawakening. Side effect."

"Oh, such a lonely childhood."

"It'll pass. Stay with me."

"Oh, Doctor. So lonely. So very, very alone."

"What do you mean, alone? You've never been alone in your life." He looked at her, eyes wide. "When did you start calling me Doctor?"

"Such a lonely little boy. Lonely then but not so lonely now. She is all that you think of. You found what you spent so many years searching for and can say nothing. How can you bear it?"

The Doctor broke the link and stared at her. "How did you do that?"

"A door, once opened, can be stepped through in either direction. Why have you introduced her in such a manner? Oh, Doctor. You must tell her of your feelings.

"I can't."

"You must. She must know and I must apologize."

"I can't."

"Doctor. Doctor who? It is more than just a secret, isn't it?"

"What did you see?"

"That there comes a time, Time Lord, when every lonely boy must share his feelings with the one he loves," Reinette smiled before leading him from the room.

I sat against the wall for what seemed like hours before the Doctor showed up. He was swaying on his feet with a drunken smile on his face and was wearing his tie around his head and sunglasses. Upon seeing me, he quickly stumbled over and pulled me up. I groaned as he threw his drink free arm around my shoulders and leaned against me for support. As I held him up, he kept talking about the French and Reinette and how she and the King had finally danced. I rolled my eyes and moved so that he bumped into some of the parts littered around. It didn't even bother him, instead he began to sing. "I could've danced all night, I could've danced all night." I stumbled a bit. "And still have begged for more. I could've spread my wings and done a thou." He stopped singing, to my relief, when we reached Rose and Mickey. The two were strapped down to metal tables with two droids around them. "Have you met the French? My _god_, they know how to party."

"Oh, look at what the cat dragged in. The Oncoming Storm," Rose snapped, her eyes narrowing a bit more as she saw my extremely annoyed expression.

"Oh, you sound just like your mother."

"What've you been doing? Where've you been?"

"Well, among other things, I think just invented the banana daiquiri a few centuries early. Do you know, they've never even seen a banana before? Always take a banana to a party, Rose. Bananas are good." He then turned his attention to one of the androids. "Oh ho, ho, ho, ho, brilliant. It's you. You're my favourite, you are. You are the best! Do you know why? Because you're so thick. You're Mister Thick Thick Thickity Thick Face from Thicktown, Thickania. And so's your dad. Do you know what they were scanning Reinette's brain for? Her milometer. They want to know how old she is. Know why? Because this ship is thirty seven years old, and they think that when Reinette is thirty seven, when she's _complete_, then her brain will be compatible. So, that's what you're missing, isn't it, hmm? Command circuit. Your computer. Your ship needs a brain. And for some reason, god knows what, only the brain of Madame de Pompadour will do."

"The brain is compatible."

"Compatible? If you believe that, you probably believe this is a glass of wine," the Doctor said as he removed the mask and poured the goblet's contents on its head. The droid stopped moving. He sobered up and got off of me, looking for something. "Multigrain anti-oil. If it moves, it doesn't." He finally found it and flipped the switch. "Right, you two, that's enough lying about. Time we got the rest of the ship turned off." He freed Mickey and Rose from their bonds with the sonic. As he worked the console, I slipped my hand into his pocket and snatched the sonic screwdriver. Thankfully he didn't notice in his haste. I had the overwhelming feeling that I would need it.

"Are those things safe?"

"Yeah. Safe. Safe and thick, just the way I like them. Okay. All the time windows are controlled from here. I need to close them all down. Zeus plugs. Where are my Zeus plugs? I had them a minute ago. I was using them as castanets."

"Why didn't they just open a time window to when she was thirty seven?"

"With the amount of damage to these circuits, they did well to hit the right century. Trial and error after that. The windows aren't closing. Why won't they close?" There was the ring of a bell.

"What's that?" Rose asked.

"I don't know. Incoming message?"

"From who?"

"Report from the field. One of them must still be out there with Reinette. That's why I can't close the windows. There's an override." I watched as the first droid reactivated and removed the oil from itself and onto the Doctor's shoe. "Well, that was a bit clever." The off switch moved to on again. "Right. Many things about this are not good. Message from one of your little friends? Anything interesting?"

"She is complete. It begins," one answered before they all teleported out.

"What's happening?"

"One of them must have found the right time window. Now it's time to send in the troops. And this time they're bringing back her head."

After what felt like hours of searching, we finally found the right time window. As the three tried to decide what to do, I had already formulated a plan. It was a stupid one but it would keep everyone safe in the end, even if I wasn't. "Such a commotion. Such distressing noise. Kindly remember that this is Versailles. This is the Royal Court, and we are French. I have made a decision. And my decision is no, I shall not be going with you today. I have seen your world, and I have no desire to set foot there again."

"We do not require your feet." I watched as two androids pushed her to her knees. Taking that as my cue, I mounted Arthur and ran towards the window, past Rose, the Doctor, and Mickey, smashing through it and landing in the ballroom.

"Hello."

"Cerys!"

"What the hell is going on?"

"Oh, this is my lover, the King of France."

"Nice to meet you but I'm here for a clock," I stated as I removed the mask from one of the droids. It drew its blade and placed it at my throat. "It's over… for the both of us." I looked up seeing a brick wall where I had entered, trying to keep my voice steady. Just knowing I couldn't see Rose, Mickey, Jackie, or even the Doctor again was gnawing at me and I could feel a lump starting to form in my throat. Taking a steady breath, I watched as the android pressed its teleport frantically to no avail. "I broke the link coming here and there's no way to return. How long will you last before that last tick?" With that, and a few more ticks, the androids powered down, one falling and breaking to pieces. I turned to Reinette, forcing a small smile. "Are you okay?"

"Are you?" I strained a nod. "What's happened to them?"

"They no longer have a purpose so they powered down," I answered before walking away from the stunned party goers.

I stood outside, looking at the stars and silently crying. The party had not ended yet, which stunned me a bit but I was more surprised to feel a hand on my shoulder. Turning around, I came face to face with Reinette. "You are far from alright."

"Of course I am," I snapped before hastily apologising. The woman shook her head at me, letting me know it was fine that I'd snapped at her. "I'm stuck in 18th century France. I'm a very long way from home and a few centuries away."

"You are. I also wish to apologize for my advances towards the Doctor. It was not known to me that you were courting."

It's fine. It wouldn't have lasted. He's a Time Lord and I'm human. Besides, he isn't mine. He can see whomever he wants… have whoever he wants."

"I would not be so certain in your assumptions." I gave her a questioning glance but she only smiled. It was one of her sly ones, one that told me she knew more than she was letting on. "In saving me, you trapped yourself. Did you know that would happen?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Yes."

"And yet you came? Even after watching me pursue the man you love. Why?"

"I did. It was mainly because I couldn't just stand by as something happened to you. No matter how much I hated seeing you near him, you were in danger. Besides, while the world, my world, didn't need me, it does need the Doctor. He's saved so many people and has done so much good that it would have been one of the worst things that could ever occur. While I'm unneeded, he isn't. The universe needs him."

"As he needs you." I chuckled, not believing her words. "There were many doors between my world and yours. Can you not use one of the others?"

"No. When Arthur and I came through, I severed the link with the ship. There'll be a few broken mirrors and ripped tapestries wherever there was a door."

"So here you are, the woman who sacrificed herself and her love for me."

"Yeah, I suppose I don't regret it."

"And why is that?"

"It is easier for me to go. I've been so tired for so very long. Life is something I no longer want," I admitted sadly. The woman beside me squeezed my hand, offering me her comfort. She gave me a moment before she smiled.

"Come," Reinette spoke. "Take my hand." I did as she said. She led me to a bedroom. My eyes widened when I saw the fireplace. "It's not a copy, it's the original. I had it moved here and was exact in every detail."

"When?"

"Many years ago, in the hope that a door once opened, may someday open again. It appears undamaged. Do you think it will still work?"

"I don't know. Because you moved it, the link with the ship was severed. It was offline although the link still might be there." I began to tap the fireplace, looking for a weak spot or something that would indicate that the link was still there. When I found it, I smiled. "I found it… the loose connection." I pulled out the Doctor's screwdriver and pointed it to the fireplace. I gave it a kick and there was a clunk. "Thank you. Don't forget to take care of Arthur please." Reinette nodded and gave me a quick hug, slipping an envelope in my hand, before the fireplace turned.

On the other side, I saw the Doctor frantically trying to work the controls on the console. Rose and Mickey stood on the side, watching him. Mickey was the first to see me. After he had gotten over the initial shock, he rushed over and pulled me into a hug. Rose ran over, pushing the poor man off of me and engulfing me in a bone shattering embrace. I managed to smile as she let go and slapped my arm, knowing I had done more than worry her. The only person who hadn't seen me was the Doctor. I walked over to him and placed the sonic in his pocket before I made my way to the Tardis. As I walked away, I felt arms snake around my waist. I fell into the embrace for a moment before I pulled away. Before I could get too far, I was grabbed and spun around so that I was facing him. "Let go of me."

"Rose, Mickey, can you give us a minute?" Mickey nodded and dragged Rose into the Tardis. I looked everywhere but at him. "Why-"

"Because I did. You were thinking of doing it and the universe needs you."

"You don't get to decide that. You had no right to make that decision."

"I don't care! Anything is better than-"

"Than what?"

"Nothing. It doesn't matter."

"It does. Anything having to do with you matters."

"Yeah, right. Maybe you should have thought about that before you snogged Reinette. Speaking of her, she wanted you to have this," I said as I shoved the letter I was given into his hand. With that, I wrenched myself from his grip and entered the Tardis. I stormed past both Mickey and Rose for the comfort of my room where I soon fell asleep.

_ "You should kill yourself and do it right. No one wants you around, Cerys." _

_ "You're ugly and fat. Maybe you should go on a diet."_

_"No, just die already."_

_I sat in the corner of the bathroom clutching my knees to my chest. It had been another day of bombardment. No one had come to my aid, not even Rose. She was too busy with Shareen, the one person who was the main cause to my pains. She had employed those people to say such things and try as I might, it hurt to hear them. I tentatively reached my hand out, finding the box cutter I had taken to carrying around. Letting up the blade, I swiped it across my arm. I watched at the blood oozed and fell. In almost a maniacal way, I slashed at my arm, until I reached the vein between my bicep and forearm. I ran the blade against it, digging as deep as I could. I then turned to my wrist, digging deep with that as well. I quickly did the same to my opposite arm and laid onto the floor, waiting for death. As I closed my eyes for the final time, the bathroom door opened and there was an ear shattering scream._

* * *

_Hey all. Another late update. I'm sorry about that. While I have been on my computer nonstop, I haven't even been in the proper mentality for posting a new chapter and I've been working on an original story as well as another fanfic... not that those are excuses because they're not. My priorities are all out of wack at the moment. But thanks to everyone who's stuck with the story so far and for all the reviews._

_**beulah2013:** For the unseen adventures, I'll try my utmost best to include those adventures. I do want to include Jim the Fish and I might have included a new adventure in the future. _

_**idonothaveagentleheart1105:** Understandable. Haha, well I can say that you'll definitely want to slap him some more as the story progresses. The relationship that the two have will continue to be a rollercoaster for a bit. In the parallel world, there won't be something tempting her per say but there will be the desire to remain there. Oh, Rose is definitely getting that slap in ;)_

_**I'm-a-Klaus-addict:** Hey there and HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY! Yeah, I did kind of destroy their small bit of happiness. It's almost like every time Cerys is comfortable with admitting her feelings (in general), something always happens. That was the main reason I kept the kiss. But he seriously does. Ten is a chick magnet. Same here with Mickey. It took me a minute but after the events in TPoW, I was in love with his character. In the parallel world, it'll be the same situation as Rose... maybe. I'm still deciding as I do my rewriting and editing. But I can say that adventure will be a good one. _

_**NicoleR85:** With the dynamic of their relationship, Cerys would probably let him think he's forgiven and then do something that'll throw that idea entirely out the window. There's definitely some torture involved._


	29. Rise of the Cybermen

I jumped up, looking around the room. The familiar tingle that I had during those times I'd thought about cutting had returned. Shaking my head, I wiped the sweat off my face and stumbled to the bathroom. Splashing water on my face, I cursed as the sensation grew, becoming more and more insistent as the seconds ticked by. I pinched, scratched, rubbed, and slapped my arm in an attempt to relieve it. Nothing worked; knowing the sensation would remain, I returned to my bed. As I went to search between the mattress and the box, I saw someone leaning against the wall. I looked up and for the first time saw that I hadn't been alone. I froze, hoping he hadn't witnessed my actions but after a moment, my eyes narrowed as I made out the figure, seeing that it was neither Rose or Mickey. "Are you alright?"

"What are you doing in here?" I snapped.

"I was just checking on you."

"Well I'm fine. You can leave."

"Cerys…"

"Just go. I want to be alone." I watched as he stared at me before deciding to leave. Once the door had closed behind him, my search was forgotten as I laid on the bed and soundlessly cried.

When an hour of tears and self-pity had passed, I cleaned myself up and made for the console room. As I walked down the corridor, I was thrown to the floor. Scrambling to my feet when the tremors ceased, I found the Doctor, Mickey, and Rose on the ground and air things hanging from the ceiling. "What the hell just happened?" I cried as I looked around the darkened room. It looked so devoid of life, so unlike what I was used to.

"We lost the time vortex."

"What?!"

"Everyone alright? Rose? Mickey?"

"I'm fine. I'm okay. Sorry. Yeah." The trio stood.

"She's dead. The Tardis is dead."

Rose followed him around the console. "Can you fix it?"

"There's nothing to fix. She's perished," he pressed a button, "the last Tardis in the universe. Extinct."

"We can get help, yeah?"

"Where from?"

"Well, we've landed. We've got to be somewhere," Rose frantically said.

"We fell out of the vortex, through the void, into nothingness. We're in some sort of no place. The silent realm. The lost dimension."

I walked to the door, with Mickey following behind me. Opening it, my eyes widened at the familiarity of the place. "Otherwise known as London," Mickey chuckled before we walked out followed by Rose and the Doctor. From the small grassy platform, we jumped down. "London, England, Earth. Hold on." He picked up a newspaper. "First of February this year not exactly far flung, is it?" Rose jumped down as well, grabbing onto Mickey as she almost fell.

"So this is London?" the Doctor questioned.

"Yep."

"Your city?"

"That's the one."

"Just as we left it?"

"Bang on."

"Even the Zeppelins?" I asked him, pointing up to the sky.

Mickey and Rose looked up. "What the hell?"

"That's beautiful."

"Okay, so it's London with a big international Zeppelin festival."

"This is not your world."

"But if the date's the same, it's parallel, right? Am I right? Like a parallel Earth where they've got Zeppelins. Am I right? I'm right, aren't I?"

"Yep," I answered with a smile.

"Must be."

"So, a parallel world where-" Rose started before glancing at the Doctor for help.

"Oh, come on. You've seen it on films. Like an alternative to our world where everything's the same but a little bit different, like, I don't know, traffic lights are blue, Tony Blair never got elected."

"And he's still alive," Rose said as she stared at an advertisement for Vitex Lite with a man on the front that I recognized as Pete Tyler, her dad. "A parallel world and my dad's still alive."

Rose began to walk down the street, leaving us to follow after her. "Don't look at it, Rose. Don't even think about it. This is not your world."

"But he's my dad and…" She touched the screen and it came to life. Startled, she pulled her hand away.

"**Trust me on this.**"

"Well, that's weird. But he's real."

"**Trust me on this.**"

"He's a success. He was always planning these daft little schemes. Health food drinks and stuff. Everyone said they were useless. But he did it."

The Doctor grabbed her arms, trying to make her look him in the eye. "Rose, if you've ever trusted me, then listen to me now." She looked back at the screen. "Stop looking at it. Your father's dead. He died when you were six months old. That is not _your_ Pete. That is _a_ Pete. For all we know, he's got his own Jackie, his own Rose. His own daughter who is someone else, but not you. You can't see him. Not ever." Mickey placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

I sighed, recognizing the look in Rose's eyes. Knowing she would do whatever she wanted, I returned to the Tardis, sitting in the captain's chair. I closed my eyes, concentrating on the Tardis, feeling as if a part of her was alive. Snapping my eyes open, I looked around, before getting up and grabbing the Doctor. Mickey and the Doctor gave me a puzzled glance but he allowed me to drag him away. Pulling him into the Tardis, I pointed to the grate. As he was about to open the grate, Mickey walked in. "I told you to keep an eye on her," the Doctor snapped at the man.

"She's alright."

"She goes wondering off. Parallel world, it's like a gingerbread house. All those temptations calling out."

"Oh, so just Rose, then? Nothing out there to tempt me?" Mickey asked.

"Well, I don't know, I can't worry about everything," he snapped. I shook my head, feeling bad for Mickey. He didn't deserve that.

"What about Cerys, huh? Think there's nothing out there to tempt her?"

The Doctor stopped and glanced up at Mickey, completely avoiding eye contact with me. I gave Mickey a thankful smile before turning away from the men, knowing the Doctor was going to avoid the question, which he did. "If I could just get this thing to-" he kicked the console.

"Did that help?"

"Yes."

"Did that hurt?"

"Yes," the Doctor sat down and rubbed his foot, "Ow. We're not meant to be here. The Tardis draws its power from the universe, but it's the wrong universe. It's like diesel in a petrol engine."

"But… I've seen it in comics. People go hopping from one alternative world to another. It's easy."

"Not in the real world. It used to be easy. When the Time Lords kept their eye on everything, you could hop between realities, home in time for tea. Then they died, and took it all with them. The walls of reality closed, the worlds were sealed. Everything became that bit less kind."

"Then how did we get here?" Mickey asked.

The Doctor wiped his face, thinking. "I don't know. Accident? Should've been impossible. Now we're trapped." I cleared my throat, pointing to the grate again. I was beginning to get annoyed with the two, mainly the Doctor. "What's that?" he asked, looking to where I had indicated.

"What?"

"That, there. Is that a reflection? It's a light! Is it? Is that a light? I think that's a light. That's all we need. We've got power! Mickey, we've got power! Ha!" he laughed before he finally opened it and dropping down under the main part of the console. "Cerys, you're brilliant," he exclaimed as he moved to hug me. Just as I saw it happening, I jumped off the chair and backed away from him. I watched as his expression changed to pain, before it disappeared and was replaced with excitement. "It's alive!"

"What is it?"

After pulling a vast amount of things out, he stood, bringing with him a small object he held cupped in his hands. "It's nothing. It's tiny. One of those insignificant little power cells that no one ever bothers about, and it's clinging onto life, with one little ounce of reality tucked away inside."

"Enough to get us home?"

"Not yet. I need to charge it up."

"We could go outside and lash it up to the National Grid."

"Wrong sort of energy. It's got to come from our universe."

"But we don't have anything."

"There's me," he said before he blew on it. The green light brightened and he smiled. "I just gave away ten years of my life. Worth every second."

"It's going out. Is that okay?"

"It's on a recharging cycle."

"It'll loop around and power back up," I added, more for Mickey's sake than anything. I was still upset from the trip to Versailles, thus making this a trip of little words. I couldn't bring myself to speak to the Doctor or be around him much, knowing that sooner or later, my anger would well up and I'd explode and ultimately say something that would hurt him, as I usually did.

"And be ready to take us home in, oh, twenty four hours."

"So that gives us twenty four hours on a parallel world."

"Shore leave. As long as we keep our heads down. Easy. No problem. Let's go and tell Rose." The two men looked at me, waiting for me to stand. Sighing, I went out with them. Once with Rose, the Doctor showed her the power cell. "There you are. You all right? No applause. I fixed it. Twenty four hours, then we're flying back to reality." She didn't respond. Rose just continued to look forlornly at her phone. "What is it?"

"My phone connected. There's this Cybus Network. It finds your phone. It gave me Internet access."

"Rose, whatever it says, this is the wrong world."

"I don't exist."

"What do you mean?"

"There's no Rose Tyler. I was never born. There's Pete, my dad, and Jackie. He still married mum but they never had kids. Not even Cerys… she doesn't exist either." I stared at her shocked for a moment before I snapped out of it, thanks to Mickey placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"Give me that phone." He went to grab from it but she pulled it out of his reach.

"They're rich. They've got a house and cars, and everything they want. But they haven't got me." She stood. "I've got to see him."

"You can't."

"I just want to see him."

"I can't let you."

"You just said twenty four hours!"

"You can't become their daughter, that's not the way it works. Mickey, tell her."

"Twenty four hours, yeah?" Mickey stood.

"Where are you going?"

"Well, I can do what I want."

"I've got the address and everything."

"Stay where you are, both of you. Rose, come back here! Mickey, come back here right now!" The Doctor glanced at me, silently begging for my help. "Cerys, please tell them." I shook my head and started to walk towards Mickey. While I might not exist in the universe, I wanted to see what it had to offer. A part of me was considering staying and no longer travelling with the Doctor. It was an odd feeling, especially considering all we'd been through since I'd first met him. Even then though, we had small spats that left us at outs for an adventure or two, but there were never romantic feelings involved. Falling for him seemed to be one of my biggest mistakes.

"I just want to see him."

"Yeah, I've got things to see and all."

"Like what?"

"Well, you don't know anything about me, do you? It's always about Cerys and Rose. I'm just a spare part."

"I'm sorry. I've got to go." Rose continued to back away from the Doctor as Mickey and I walked off, Mickey with his back to me.

"Go on, then. There's no choice, is there? You can only chase after one of us. It's never going to be me, is it?"

"Cerys…" I barely gave him a glance as I continued to walk off.

He sighed, torn between Rose and me. Groaning, he made his decision, knowing I'd be better with him choosing Rose. Her safety was always more important to me. "Back here, twenty four hours!" He then ran off after Rose.

"Yeah, if I haven't found something better," Mickey said as we walked on.

We wandered the streets in a comfortable silence. It was the longest Mickey and I had spent together, without Rose around. Considering the crap we'd been through, and our mutual dislike for each other, he wasn't that bad, if I were being honest. I did want to leave the past behind, and start anew with him. Thinking about it, the main reason we didn't get along was because of me. The man had been nothing but nice the first time we'd met and I was the hostile one. I made him feel like shit. The relationship we had, or lack thereof was my fault, not him. "Why did you come with me? You could of ran off with Rose and the Doctor but you chose me. Why?"

I glanced at the man, startled from my thoughts. "Well.. I was serious when I said I wanted to be friends. I figured this would be as good as a time as any other. Besides, I couldn't be around HIM. Besides, I'm also looking for something better. I don't know if I can keep travelling with him. "

"What happened between you two?"

"Me. I was always good at pushing people away. I thought he and I were… but then he kissed Rinette and I don't know if he even likes me."

"I know just how good you are at that. I was the only person who tried to defend you when you were being bullied and you ended up punching me in the throat."

"Sorry. It was a really bad day."

"I know, but the Doctor loves you. Rose and I can see that."

"But Madam de Pompadour… she's this amazing woman and I'm just some stupid, moody…. ugh!"

"That he loves. Trust me. After seeing him when you were stuck in France, there's no doubt of it. He'd be devastated if you left. Rose would be too. Who else is going to put her in her place and keep her safe. If not for you, I think she would have been dead a few adventures ago. If things aren't sorted in twenty four hours, then you can make your decision."

"Thanks, Mickey."

"No problem," he said with a smile before turning his attention from me to the soldier that approached us from the roadblock. "Are we alright to get past?"

"Yeah. No bother. Curfew doesn't start till ten."

"There's a curfew?"

"Course there is. Where you been living, mate? Up there in the toffs?"

We both looked up at the zeppelins. "I wish. See you." As we walked through, the other soldier lifted the block and dropped once we'd passed.

"Mickey, where are we going?"

"You'll see."

We walked for a few more minutes before I realized exactly where he was going. I smiled, knowing how much this would mean to him. Reaching Waterton Street SE15, Mickey hesitated to grab the knocker on door number one. I nudged him, giving him an encouraging nod. Taking in a breath, he grabbed it and knocked on the door. Moments later, we heard her, Rita Anne, Mickey's grandmother. He smiled at me, almost disbelieving to the fact she was alive. "Who's that there?" The door opened, revealing the woman. She had her white walking stick in hand and a pair of ear pods that worried me a bit. "Who is it? I know you're there. Shame on you, tricking an old lady. I've got nothing worth stealing. And don't think I'm going to disappear! You're not going to take me," she exclaimed as she waved her cane around.

"Hi." I silently chuckled at his timid greeting.

"Is that you?"

"It's me. I came home."

"Ricky?" She touched his face.

"It's Mickey." I smiled. It seemed to be something he constantly repeated.

"I know my own grandson's name. It's Ricky. Now, come here," The two hugged.

"Okay, I'm Ricky. Of course I am. Ricky, that's me." She slapped his arm. "Ow!"

"You stupid boy. Where have you been?" She continued to slap him.

"Ow! Stop hitting me!" I laughed out loud, alerting the woman to my presence, not that she said anything about it. She was too busy dealing with Mickey.

"It's been days and days! I keep hearing all these stories. People disappearing off the streets. There's nothing official on the download but there're all these rumours, and, and whispers. I thought that God had disappeared you! And who's with you?"

"I'm a friend of Mickey's. My name's Cerys. It's great to meet you."

"First time you brought a girl home." I sniggered as he threw me a glare before his attention went to the staircase.

"That carpet on the stairs, I told you to get it fixed. You're going to fall and break your neck."

"Well, you get it fixed for me."

"I should have done it way back." I placed a hand on his shoulder. "I guess I'm just kind of useless."

"You aren't useless, Mickey. Look at all the things you did for us."

"Now, I never said that."

"I am, though. And I'm sorry gran. I'm so sorry."

"Don't talk like that. Do you know what you need? A nice sit down and a cup of tea. You got time?"

"For you, I've got all the time in the world."

"Oh, you say that, but it's all talk. It's those new friends of yours. I don't trust them. I hope you can get him away from them, missy."

"What friends are they?"

"Don't pretend you don't know. You've been seeing them. Missus Chan told me. Driving about all helter skelter in that van."

"What van's that, then?"

"You know full well! Don't play games with me." I whipped my head around as I heard the squeal of tires as a blue van stopped in front of the house. I watched as a blonde man jumped out and grabbed our arms, pulling us into the van. As the door closed, we could hear Rita Anne calling out for Mickey.

In the van, there was a woman with blonde hair behind the wheel and the man with spikey blonde hair who had pulled us in. Both were dressed in black and the man was staring at us intently. I watched them, a bit on edge. I didn't know whether they were good or bad but I wanted to find out. "Ricky, you were the one who told us you don't contact your family because it puts them in danger," the man said.

"Yeah. Ricky said that. Course I did, just testing."

He turned his attention to me. "Who are you?"

"Ricky's friend. I'm Cerys."

He nodded and turned back to Mickey. "I saw them. I taped them. They went round Blackfriars gathering up the homeless like the child catcher. They must've took four dozen."

"The vans were hired out to a company called International Electromatics. But I did a protocol search. Turns out that's a dummy company established by guess who?" the blonde woman said.

"I don't know. Who?"

"Cybus Industries!" the two exclaimed as if it were common sense.

"Well, now we've got evidence."

"Bad news is, they've arrested Thin Jimmy. So that just leaves you."

"Leaves me what?"

"The Number One. Top of the list. London's Most Wanted."

"Okay, cool." I nudged Mickey, knowing he hadn't thought before speaking. "Say that again?" he asked, the man's words finally registering.

By the time the van had stopped, it was night. The four of us clambered out once it had come to a stop. We were in front of another house, in a different section. As we approached, I saw that a single light was on in the flat. "There's a light on. There's someone inside the base. Missis Moore, we've got visitors." The two pulled out guns and stood against the wall. I cringed a bit, a part of me not wanting to be near them with the weapons in hand. "One, two, three, go!" They burst through the door, with Mickey and me not far behind them. They lowered their weapons as they saw who was standing inside the room. I glanced at Mickey, a bit amused by his expression.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"What're you doing there?"

"What am I doing here?" the man I assumed to be Rickey questioned, walking towards the door. "What am I doing there?" The two quickly turned their guns on us, mainly pointing them at Mickey who immediately threw his hands up.

"Please put the guns down. At this point in time, I am not very fond of them."

They ignored me and the woman grabbed my arms, placing me in a chair and restraining me. The same was done to Mickey, except he was stripped down and the blonde man was scanning him as the woman sat behind a laptop. "They're clean. No bugs." Ricky approached us from a dark corner.

"But this is off the scale. He's flesh and blood. How did that happen?"

"Well, it could be that Cybus Industries have perfected the science of human cloning, or your father had a bike."

"And your name is Mickey, not Ricky."

"Mickey. Dad was Jackson Smith. Used to work at the key cutters in Clifton's Parade. Went to Spain, never came back."

"But that's my dad. So, we're brother?"

"Be fair. What else could it be?"

"I don't know. But he doesn't just look like me, he is exactly the same. There's something else going on here, Jake."

"Well done, Ricky," I sarcastically commented.

So, who are you lot?"

"We?"

"Well he did ask," I muttered, earning an eye roll from Ricky.

"We are the Preachers. As in Gospel Truth. You see?" He motioned to his ears. "No ear plugs. While the rest of the world downloads from Cybus Industries, we, we have got freedom. You're talking to London's Most Wanted, but target Number One is Lumic, and we are going to bring him down."

"From your kitchen?"

Ricky turned around and gave the room a look round. "Have you got a problem with that?"

"No, it's a good kitchen."

The woman had left our side and sat at a small table, typing away at the computer. "It's an upload from Gemini."

"Who exactly is Gemini?" I asked only to be ignored.

"The vans are back. They're moving out of Battersea. Looks like Gemini was right. Lumic's finally making a move."

"And we are right behind him. Pack up, we're leaving." We were untied and Mickey's clothes were returned. With everything ready, we went to the van. Mickey, Jake, Ricky, and I sat in the back. The three checked and loaded their weapons as the Ricky followed the lorry.

Reaching the destination, Ricky and Jake exited the van, leaving Mickey and me with the woman. "I don't know what they're doing, but this seems to be the target. Big house, fair bit of money. Now we have got to find a way to get in." Ricky said over the speaker.

The woman nodded and began to type away at her computer, leaving Mickey and I to our own devices. I was curious about her, and what her part was in the big picture. I crawled up to the passenger's seat, settling in. "What are you doing?"

"Seeing where we've stopped."

"What's your name?"

"Missis Moore. Why do you ask?"

She warily glanced at me. "Call it curiosity." I looked at the screen. "You figured it out."

"Yes." She pulled out her walkie-talkie. "I've identified the address. It belongs to Peter Tyler, the Vitex millionaire."

"Pete Tyler?" Mickey asked.

"He's listed as one of Lumic's henchmen," the woman continued, shaking her head, "a traitor to the state."

"But, we've got to get in there." I smiled, knowing he was worried about Rose. I was too but I knew she was pretty safe with the Doctor.

"No, shut it, duplicate. That's what I just said."

"Don't speak to him like that," I snapped at Rickey.

He was silent for a moment before he spoke. "What are they doing?" He paused, as if trying to figure out what was going on. "What the hell are they?"

After he was silent for a while, there were crashes and screams. Mickey and I looked at each other, silently deciding on what to do. Coming to a conclusion, we both jumped out of the van and raced towards the house. We spotted Rose, Pete Tyler, Jake, Ricky, and the Doctor; Ricky and Jake were shooting at the metal men as the other three watched. When it all stopped, I watched as Rose hugged Ricky, thinking he was Mickey. I chuckled as he pulled away from her. I quickly pushed Mickey forward. "Rose! That's not me. That's like the other one."

"Oh, as if things weren't bad enough, there's two Mickey's." I rolled my eyes as his eyes met mine. There was a flash of emotion and he quickly grabbed my arm and pulled me to him, embracing me in the comfort of his arms. I didn't pull away, not only because he left no room for me to do so but because I wanted to be there. There was no other place I felt safe than in his arms. Immediately, my mind was made. While I knew there would be turbulence, I wanted to travel with him.

"It's Ricky."

"But there's more of them," Mickey said.

"We're surrounded."

Ricky and Jake held up their guns, taking aim. "Put the guns down. Bullets won't stop them." Jake started to shoot at the metal men, and the Doctor stopped him. "No! Stop shooting, now. We surrender! Hands up." Everyone but me raised their hands. It seemed like a repeat of the time we had first met the Slitheen and I was ever so eager to do as was told. "There's no need to damage us. We're good stock. We volunteer for the upgrade program. Take us to be processed."

"You are rouge elements."

"But we surrender," I muttered, bringing the metal men's attention to me.

It scanned me. "You are incompatible." I jumped, not knowing exactly what that meant.

"But this is a surrender."

"You will be deleted."

"But we're surrendering! Listen to me, we surrender!" The Doctor pulled me closer to him, literally pressing my body to his so that there was no space between us.

"You are inferior."

I snapped my head up to the metal man that spoke, pulling myself from the Doctor a bit. "Inferior? You think we are inferior?" I barked out a strained laugh. "Metal men, that's what you are, a creation that believes the human race needs a metal shell. You are inferior! Tell me, after this upgrade, how will the species continue to thrive or will you invade other human societies, other worlds in order to continue the silly desire? You will be nothing but stagnant and that is what makes you so very inferior to humans."

"Man will be reborn as Cyberman, but you will perish under maximum deletion," the leader said, ignoring my rant. The others held out their hands towards us, all chanting. "Delete. Delete. Delete!"

I turned into the Doctor, looking up at his beautiful brown eyes that reminded me so much of the man the girl in my dreams had fallen for. As I continued to stare at him, it barely registered that he was returning my gaze. When it finally did, I stood to my toes and kissed his lips, knowing that if I were to die, I wanted that to be my last action and for him to know that I still cared about him, that I always would, no matter how angry I was. He was basically all I had, besides Rose and Jackie, just as we were all he had. Ultimately, he had a better chance of surviving what was to come but the rest of us weren't going to be so lucky. Pulling away, I buried my head in his chest and waited for our death.

* * *

_Hello all! Wow, it's been a bit of time since I last updated. No excuses here, I've just been incredibly lazy. I have the time, especially considering I go to sleep at 6 in the morning but eh, I'm going to try to keep to my Tuesday/Thursday schedule._

_So, after extensive editing (originally, Cerys was supposed to be extremely indifferent after the whole Rinette fiasco), I have a new chapter. While I am way ahead in writing, I haven't rewatched the chapters or added some things in. A LOT of Martha has been highlighted as points of editing. _

_I__'m never truly happy with my work but I love that people are enjoying it. I honestly don't even have a schedule for updating anymore. It was seriously fucked when I went to Miami... and I'm still there until the 19th. But anywho, thanks to everyone to reads and reviews the story. I appreciate it more than words could describe._

_**yellowroseofthenw:** The agony is right and this isn't even the end of it. The angst will continue for as long as Cerys is with the Doctor :) So glad you're enjoying the story._

_**I'm a Witch So Deal With It:** Love the UN. Definitely understand how you feel about Cerys. She definitely has her weak points but there are also wonderful qualities to her. Either way, you're in for a bit of a ride when it comes to her. :)_

_**idonothaveagentleheart1105:** Ten snogs everyone! It irked me so much and I felt so bad for Cerys as I wrote it but, story progression. Their relationship is meant to be no where near easy. Rose is definitely the mother hen when it comes to Cerys and it is all for good reason. But I agree, free slaps for all *cue the evil laughter*_

_**NicoleR85:** Always have to torture the men. They won't learn otherwise. I hadn't thought of doing a Doctor's POV thing. Honestly, I don't think I would due to the fact I am **terrified** of muck it up. But I will have the letter be brought up in the future. I might have a certain heroine come across it in his room *hint hint*_

_**I'm-a-Klaus-addict:** Well if it were that easy, there'd barely be a story to write. I want them to get together and they might soon but it's going to take a lot more of Cerys being stubborn. As for Rinette, I needed her to apologise to Cerys. Well... more of a part of me thought that was something the woman would do. Rinette was a brilliant woman and with her entering the Doctor's memories and seeing a certain person, it was also meant to show her that she had no chance with him. And of course it would be Cerys to jump through. She has so little value to her life and self-worth that it made sense, as horrid as it you had a good day though. Partied it up and all :)_

_**ABC:** Thanks. The dreams will continue to pop up as the story progresses. They are a major part to the mystery. _

_**Guest:** Well, your wish has been granted. _

_**Lorelei Tatsuye Marivaine:** I honestly think the same thing when it's just Captain Jack. Normally I use their last names in my speech. _

_**Pyra Sanada:** So glad you're enjoying it. Have yourself an update :)_

_** :** Hope you enjoyed this chapter._


	30. The Age of Steel

I am so sorry for the uber late update. Without further adieu, onto The Age of Steel.

* * *

I felt the Doctor reach into his pocket and retrieve something, the Tardis' power cell. He pointed it at the Cybermen and a golden stream of light hit one, and a link was made between the group surrounding us. Within seconds, they were destroyed. Placing in back into his pocket, he pulled me closer to him and placed a kiss atop my head. A moment later, he released me and grabbed my hand, giving me a quick, reassuring smile that I was so grateful for. While externally I seemed to be calm, inside, I was a mess. The entire matter had freaked me out more than I had thought it would. Yet his embrace was enough to calm my racing heart as well as my frayed nerves. "What the hell was that?" Ricky asked.

"Does it really matter what it was? We need to go," I snapped.

"We'll have that instead. Run!"

Mrs. Moore honked the horn as she drove up to us, the sliding door still open from when Mickey and I had jumped out. "Everybody In!"

While we all ran for the van, Pete ran back towards the house. I stopped as the Doctor's hand left mine. Turning to ask what the hell he was doing, I stopped as I saw him pin Pete against the wall, with Rose standing beside him. "I've got to go back. My wife's in there."

"Anyone inside that house is dead. If you want to help, then don't let her die for nothing. You've got to come with us right now."

"Come on! Get a move on!"

"Rose, she's not your mother."

"I know."

"Come on."

"Finished chatting? Never seen a slower getaway in my life!" We closed the door once we were all inside and Mrs Moore hit the gas, speeding off and away from the Tyler Mansion.

We were all quiet as we drove, each of us trying our hardest to regain our normal breathing patterns. Rose sat on the other side of Pete with Mickey while Jake sat on the other side of the Doctor. As we continued down the road, I laid my head onto the Doctor's shoulder. It was comfortable, even if he was as thin as a stick; it was good enough for me. Just as I had gotten comfortable enough to fall asleep, someone spoke. "What was that thing?" Ricky asked from the front of the van.

I lifted my head, wanting to pay attention to what was being said and I knew that if I kept that position, I'd end up dozing off. "Little bit of technology from my home."

"It's stopped glowing. Has it run out?" Mickey asked.

I shook my head. "It's on a recharging loop, remember."

"It'll charge back up in four hours."

"Right. So, we don't have a weapon anymore."

"Yeah, we've got weapons. Might not be one of those metal things, but they're good enough for men like him," Jake said, pointing at Pete.

"Leave him alone," Rose started, "What's he done wrong?"

"Oh, you know, just laid a trap that's wiped out the Government and left Lumic in charge."

"If I was part of all that, do you think I'd leave my wife inside?"

"Maybe your plan went wrong. Still gives us the right to execute you, though"

"Oh, shut up, Ricky. No one is executing anyone."

"Are you a threat as well, Cerys? Should we kill you after him?"

"Talk about executions, you'll make me your enemy. And take some really good advice. You don't want to do that." I leaned my head against the Doctor's shoulder, calming him. He wrapped his arm around my waist and held me to him. While I barely cared what happened to me, that moment seemed to make me realise just how upset he might be if I died, or just left.

The trio in the front were quiet for a moment. "All the same, we have evidence that says Pete Tyler's been working for Lumic since twenty point five."

"Is that true?" Rose asked.

"Tell them, Mrs M."

"We've got a government mole who feeds us information. Lumic's private files, his South American operations, the lot. Secret broadcasts twice a week."

"Broadcast from Gemini?"

"And how do you know that?"

"I'm Gemini. That's me."

"Yeah, you would say that."

"Encrypted wavelength six five seven using binary nine. That's the only reason I was working for Lumic. To get information. I thought I was broadcasting to the Security Services. What do I get? Scooby Doo and his gang. They've even got the van."

"No, no, no," Mickey said. "But the Preachers know what they're doing. Ricky said he's London's Most Wanted."

"Yeah, that's not exactly…"

"Not exactly what?"

"I'm London's Most Wanted for… parking tickets."

"Great."

"Yeah, they were deliberate. I was fighting the system. Park anywhere, that's me."

"Good policy. I do much the same. I'm the Doctor, by the way, if anyone's interested."

"And I'm Rose. Hello."

"Cerys."

"Even better. That's the names of my dogs. Still, at least I've got the catering staff on my side." I turned my attention to the Doctor who was chuckling. Obviously it was true that I was a bloody dog. If that was the case, I really hoped I was a vicious one. As much as I hoped that, the Doctor's expression told me otherwise.

"A French Poodle." I gawked at the Time Lord, my cheeks flushed. I was a bloody poodle for goodness sake. If anything I should be a Rottweiler or a German Shepard, or even a damn Doberman. I ground my teeth, glaring at Pete before bringing my glare to the Doctor, who had stopped laughing the moment our eyes met. Growling, I closed my eyes and thought soothing things.

"I knew you weren't a traitor."

"Why is that then?"

I watched Rose glance at the Doctor and smile. "I just did."

"They took my wife."

"She might still be alive."

"That's even worse," Pete huffed. "Because that's what Lumic does. He takes the living and he turns them into those machines."

"Cybermen. They're called Cybermen. And I'd take those ear pods off, if I were you." Pete removed them and placed the pods in the Doctor's outstretched hand as I reached into his pocket. "You never know. Lumic could be listening." I quickly used the sonic to disable them and returned the screwdriver back to the Doctor's pocket. "But he's overreached himself. He's still just a businessman. He's assassinated the President. All we need to do is get to the city and inform the authorities. Because I promise you, this ends tonight."

As we walked down the street, we saw people moving in almost a trance like state, their ear-pods flashing blue. My grip on the Doctor's hand tightened as a hollowness enveloped me, knowing those people were walking to their deaths. It was almost as if I could feel their lack of humanity. They had been overridden and emptied, just shells of their former selves at that moment. Yet, underneath the emptiness, I could feel the underlining fear and within each person. It soon got to the point where I could barely keep it together. While Rose continued to move forward, unaware of my condition, the Doctor stroked my hand with his thumb, trying to calm me but it didn't help much.

Abruptly I came to a stop, Jake coming up beside the Doctor and I. All around us people blindly walked past. They were practically zombies. "What the hell?"

"What's going on?"

"Lumic has control over them."

"It's the ear-pods."

"Can't we just, I don't know, take them off?" Rose asked as she moved to remove them from a man in a grey sweater. Before she could touch them, the Doctor slapped her hands away.

"Don't! Cause a brainstorm." Rose glanced up at him. "Human race. For such an intelligent lot, you aren't half susceptible. Give anyone a chance to take control and you submit." He walked around, quickly inspecting them before following the group. "Sometimes I think you like it. Easy life."

"Hey, come and see," Jake said, gaining our attention. We peeped around the corner and saw more people and a group of Cybermen.

"Where are they all going?" Rose asked.

"I don't know. Lumic must have a base of operations."

"Battersea," Pete vocalised. "That's where he was building the prototypes."

"Why's he doing it?"

"He's dying. This all started out as a way of prolonging life, of keeping the brain alive at any cost."

"The thing is, we've seen Cybermen before, haven't we? The head. Those handle shapes in Van Statten's museum."

"Ah, there are Cybermen in our universe. They started on an ordinary world just like this, then swarmed across the galaxy."

"Here, they're starting from scratch," I finished.

"What the hell are you two on about?" I glanced up at Pete and blankly stared at him before looking back at the Cybermen.

"Never mind that. Come on, we need to get out of the city. Okay, split up. Mrs. Moore, you look after that bloke. Jake, distract them. Go right, I'll go left. We'll meet back at Bridge Street. Move," Ricky stated, taking command.

Mickey looked from Ricky to us before saying something. "I'm going with him." He gave Rose a kiss and ran off after Ricky.

"Come on, let's go."

As we ran we passed more groups of Cybermen. Spotting a side street, I pulled the Doctor, whose hand was still in mine, towards it. "There!" he called out to the others, who had not noticed our change in direction. We ducked behind rubbish bins as more Cybermen marched down the alley. The closer they came, the tighter I squeezed the Doctor's hand. I was terrified, to say the least. Giving my hand a quick squeeze, I glanced up to see the Doctor had reached for his sonic screwdriver and was transmitting a signal that led the Cybermen on. When they had walked on, Rose was the first to stand. "Go."

When we reached Bridge Street, we saw Jake running towards us, his breathing ragged. The four of us stood there, waiting for him to catch his breath. "I ran past the river. You should have seen it. The whole city's on the march. Hundreds of Cybermen all down the Thames." Mickey… or Ricky finally reached us. "Here he is! Which one are you?"

"I'm sorry. The Cybermen. He couldn't."

"Are you Ricky? Are you Ricky?"

"Mickey, that's you, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Rose ran to hug him. I did as well. "He tried. He was running. There was too many of them." Jake walked away.

"Shut it."

"There was nothing I could do."

"I said just shut it. Don't even talk about him. You're nothing, you are. Nothing."

I whirled on the man, my fist connecting with his jaw. Jake stumbled back, bewildered that I had hit him. "Don't you ever tell someone that they're nothing. Mickey is more than that. Just because you wanted your friend to survive doesn't mean you take your anger and grief out on the one who did." I softened my voice. "I know you're upset, but you don't take it out on Mickey. If there were too many Cybermen, it's better one survived. I'm not just saying that because it was Mickey either. Neither deserved to die that way but I'd prefer one death to two. Wouldn't you?" Jake stormed off, leaving my question unanswered. The Doctor came over and took my hand, pulling me to him.

"We can mourn him when London is safe. But now, we move on."

We were standing on the other side of Battersea Power Station. Jake stood off to the side as the rest of stood around trying to figure out our next move. "The whole of London's been sealed off, and the entire population's been taken inside that place. To be converted."

"We've got to get in there and shut it down," Rose stated.

"How do we do that?"

"Oh, I'll think of something."

"You're just making this up as you go along."

"Yep. But I do it brilliantly."

I smiled and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Yes, you do." He looked down at me, a bit surprised by my small display of affection but it quickly became a goofy grin.

Mrs. Moore sat on a bench with her laptop and the rest of us looking on. "That's a schematic of the old factory. Look. Cooling tunnels underneath the plant. Big enough to walk through…"

"We go under there and up into the control centre?"

"Mhmm."

"There's another way in. Through the front door. If they've taken Jackie for upgrading, that's how she'll get in."

Jake walked over. "We can't just go strolling up."

"Or we could, with these," Mrs. Moore pulled two silver pods from her pack. "Fake ear pods." The Doctor picked one up. "Dead. No signal. But put them on, the Cybermen would mistake you for one of the crowd."

"Then that's my job," Pete replied, giving no room for argument.

"You'd have to show no emotion. None at all. Any sign of emotion would give you away."

"How many of those you got?" Rose asked. I glanced at her, seeing the determination in her eyes.

"Just two sets."

"Okay. If that's the best way of finding Jackie, then I'm coming with you." Rose stood.

"Why does she matter to you?"

"We haven't got time. Doctor, I'm going with him, and that's that."

"No stopping you, is there?"

"Nope." He tossed them at her and she caught them.

"Tell you what. We can take the ear pods at the same time. Give people their minds back so they don't walk into that place like sheep. Jakey-boy?" the Doctor called as he and Jake walked a bit away from the group. Since my hand was still in the Doctor's, mainly because he refused to release it, I was pulled along as well. "Lumic's transmitting the control signal. It must be from over there." He pulled out the sonic and began to scan, stopping when it reached the power station that had a zeppelin parked on top with a pulsing read light. "There it is. On the zeppelin, you see? Great big transmitter. Good thing Lumic likes showing off. Reckon you could take it out?"

Jake smiled. "Consider it done." Patting him on the back, the Doctor returned to the group, dragging me with him.

"Mrs Moore, would you care to accompany me into the cooling tunnels?"

"How could I refuse an offer of cooling tunnels?" I smiled at her answer.

"We attack on three sides. Above, between, below. We get to the control centre, we stop the conversion machines."

"What about us?" Mickey asked pointing at me and himself.

"Cerys is with me. Mickey. You can er…"

"What, stay out of trouble? Be the tin dog? No, those days are over. I'm going with Jake."

"I don't need you, idiot."

I was about to say something but Mickey beat me to it. "I'm not an idiot! You got that? I'm offering to help."

"Whatever."

"Mickey," the Doctor called, "good luck."

"Yeah, you too. Rose, I'll see you later. You too, Cerys."

"Yeah, you'd better."

"If we survive this, I'll see you back at the Tardis."

"That's a promise," he stated before he walked off.

I went over to Rose, hoping she'd listen to me. "Stay safe, please," I begged. To say I wasn't worried about her would be a lie. She was my best friend and I didn't want to lose her. She smiled at me before I pulled her into a hug. When I finally let go of her, we walked over to the Doctor.

"Good luck." She nodded and then she and Pete were off. The Doctor pulled me into a hug after they had left, trying to comfort me. I gave him a smile but almost like he knew I wasn't in the best shape, he dropped a kiss on the top of my head and then on my lips. Pulling away, I leaned into him a while longer and then the three of us went for the cooling tunnels.

I shivered as we entered the cooling tunnel. The Doctor smiled at me, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. I returned the smile, and continued on, trying to ignore just how cold I was. "It's freezing," Mrs Moore stated.

"It is a _cooling_ tunnel," I mumbled before realizing I had been rude. "Sorry." She nodded in acknowledgement.

"Any sign of a light switch?"

"Can't see a thing. But I've got these." She pulled out miners' helmets. "A device for every occasion."

"Ooo!"

"Put it on." We did as she said.

"Haven't got a hotdog in there, have you? I'm starving."

I chuckled. "Only you." He shot me another smile.

"Of all the things to wish for. That's mechanically recovered meat."

"He knows."

"It's the Cyberman of food, but it's tasty."

"Not so much," I responded, pulling a face.

Mrs Moore gave me a quick smile before reaching back into her bag. "A proper torch as well."

"Let's see where we are." With the lights on, we saw that the walls were covered with Cybermen. I grabbed the Doctor's hand, feeling a bit of fear. We'd all seen what they could do, the Doctor most of all, and I did not want that fate. "Already converted, just put on ice. Come on." He tapped a Cyberman and received no reaction.

"Don't do that!" I hissed, slapping his arm away. His face scrunched up in pain as he rubbed the spot.

"Let's go slowly. Keep an eye out for trip systems." As he said that, I began to look around, keeping an eye on anything that would alert to our position. I couldn't help but feel as if something bad were going to happen, that the Cybermen around us were to awaken soon.

"How did you get into all of this, Mrs Moore? The Preachers and all?" I asked after we had been walking for a while.

"Oh, I used to be ordinary. Worked at Cybus Industries, nine to five, till one day I find something I'm not supposed to. A file on the mainframe. All I did was read it. Then suddenly I've got men with guns knocking in the middle of the night. Life on the run. Then I found the Preachers. They needed a techie, so I… I just sat down and taught myself everything."

"That's brilliant."

"What about Mr Moore?"

"Well, he's not called Moore. I got that from a book, Mrs. Moore. It's safer not to use real names. But he thinks I'm dead. It was the only way to keep him safe. Him and the kids. What about you? Got any family, or is it just you two together?"

I stared at her, quite surprised by what she was implying. I glanced at the Doctor, hoping he'd have an answer for the woman. "Oh, who needs family? I've got the whole world on my shoulders."

"And what about Cerys? Are you two together?"

"That's up to Cerys." He shot me a hopeful glance before turning back to Mrs Moore. "Go on, then. What's your real name?"

"Angela Price. Don't tell a soul."

"Not a word."

As he said that, I noticed a Cyberman's hand move. I shook my head, hoping it was just my fear and eyes playing tricks on me. That soon changed when Mrs Moore said something. "Doctor, did that one just move?"

"It's just the torchlight. Keep going, come on." Another moved. "They're waking up. Run!" He grabbed my hand and the three of us took off. As we ran more awoke, reaching their arms out before they began to follow us. When we reached a ladder at the end of the tunnel, the Doctor climbed up and began to open it.

"Get up! Quick! They're coming! Open it! Open it!" He finally got it open and climbed through. "Get up! Quick! Quick!" she yelled at me as I was pulled through.

"Come on! Come on!" the Doctor called to her as she finally managed to get through. When she was up, he closed the door and sealed it with the sonic screwdriver. "Oh, good team, Mrs Moore, Cerys."

Before we had a moment to breathe, a Cyberman approached us. "You are not upgraded."

"Yeah? Well upgrade this," Mrs Moore said as she threw a small device at the Cyberman. It stuck into the centrepiece and the Cyberman jerked, sparked, and finally collapsed.

"What the hell was that thing?" the Doctor asked with a smile. I continued to stare at the thing, both impressed and saddened. That was a living person once, a flesh and blood human and it was dead.

"Electromagnetic bomb. Takes out computers, I figured it might stop the cyber-suit."

"You figured right. Now, let's have a look. Know your enemy. A logo on the front. Lumic's turned them into a brand. Heart of steel, but look." The Doctor used the sonic to remove the logo boss on the chest. The three of us looked in, seeing more than just electronics.

"Is that flesh?"

I watched as he stuck his finger in and pulled out a stringy clear substance. "No, well kind of. It's a central nervous system that was artificially grown and threaded throughout the suit. It helps the Cybermen respond like a living being, although it is alive… but not quite."

The Doctor nodded, confirming my explanation. "Oh, but look." He removed enough of the substance to show a chip underneath. "Emotional inhibitor. Stops them feeling anything."

"But why?"

I sighed. "Human brain."

"Imagine its reaction if it could see itself, realise itself inside this thing. They'd go insane."

"So they cut out the one thing that makes them human."

"Because they have to."

"Why am I cold?"

"Oh my God. It's alive. It can feel."

"The inhibitor is broken," I told her, stepping away from them just a bit.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Why so cold?"

"Can you remember your name?"

"Sally. Sally Phelan."

"You're a woman," Mrs Moore stated in surprise.

"Where's Gareth?"

"Who's Gareth?"

"He can't see me. It's unlucky the night before."

"You're getting married."

"I'm cold. I'm so cold."

"It's all right. You sleep now, Sally. Just go to sleep." He placed the sonic inside the chest cavity and shut her down. I let out a shaky breath, holding in a bout of tears. "Sally Phelan didn't die for nothing, because that's the key. The emotional inhibitor. If we could find the code behind it, the cancellation code, then feed it throughout the system into every Cyberman's head, they'd realise what they are."

"And what happens then?"

"I think it would kill them. Could we do that?" he asked, more to me than her. I looked away, answering his question. Knowing that they were human, I couldn't do that. I wouldn't do that.

"We've got to. Before they kill everyone else. There's no choice, Doctor. It's got to be done," Mrs Moore replied, standing. I let out a cry as a Cyberman grabbed and electrocuted her.

The Doctor stood and rushed over to me, pulling me to him as I sobbed. "No! No, you didn't have to kill her!"

"Sensors detect binary vascular systems. You are an unknown upgrade. You will be taken for analysis."

As we were led to the control room, I thought of what the Cyberman had said. It hadn't said one system but had acknowledged two. I was the only other living person in the room, so it had to mean me. As I thought about it, I couldn't help but think that it was wrong, that it only said that because I was in the Doctor's arms and that the sensors were a bit off. Yet, as I came to that conclusion, I knew it was wrong. There was no way it would have made a mistake. Deep in thought, I didn't notice we'd stopped until I ran into the Doctor's back. He gave me a small smile and looked forward. "We've been captured, but don't worry; Rose and Pete are still out there. They can rescue us," he said sarcastically. "Oh well, never mind. You okay?"

"Yeah," Rose began, "but they got Jackie."

"We were too late. Lumic killed her."

"Then where is he, the famous Mister Lumic?" the Doctor asked as he looked around. "Don't we get the chance to meet our Lord and Master?"

"He has been upgraded."

"Oh, so he's just like you?"

"He is superior. The Lumic Unit has been designated Cyber Controller." As the Cyberman said that, a door opened and another Cyberman wheeled out in a very upgraded wheelchair.

"This is The Age of Steel and I am its Creator."

We then heard screams of terror. The Cybermen in the room began to look around as I smiled a bit, knowing Mickey and Jake had taken down the transmitters. "That's my friends at work. Good boys! Mister Lumic, I think that's a vote for free will."

"I have factories waiting on seven continents. If the ear pods have failed, then the Cybermen will take humanity by force. London has fallen. So shall the world. I will bring peace to the world. Everlasting peace and unity and uniformity."

"And imagination? What about that? The one thing that lead you here, imagination, you're killing it dead!"

"What is your name?"

"I'm the Doctor."

"A redundant title. Doctors need not exist. Cybermen never sicken."

"Yeah, but that's it. That's exactly the point! Oh, Lumic, you're a clever man. I'd call you a genius, except I'm in the room. But everything you've invented, you did to fight your sickness. And that's brilliant. That is so human. But once you get rid of sickness and mortality, then what's there to strive for, eh? The Cybermen won't advance. You'll just stop. You'll stay like this forever. A metal Earth with metal men and metal thoughts, lacking the one thing that makes this planet so alive." He walked around in a circle, stopping before Lumic. "People. Ordinary, stupid, brilliant people."

"You are proud of your emotions."

"Oh, yes."

"Then tell me, Doctor. Have you known grief, and rage, and pain?"

"Yes. Yes I have."

"And they hurt?"

"Oh, yes."

"I could set you free. Would you not want that? A life without pain?"

"You might as well kill me."

"Then I take that option."

"It's not yours to take. You're a Cyber Controller. You don't control me or anything with blood in its heart."

"You have no means of stopping me. I have an army. A species of my own."

The Doctor brought his hand to his face and shook his head, walking away. "You just don't get it, do you? An army's nothing. Because those ordinary people, they're the key. The most ordinary person could change the world." He looked up at the camera. My smile brightened, knowing just what he was doing. "Some ordinary man or woman… some idiot. All it takes is for him to find, say, the right numbers. Say the right codes. Say, for example, the code behind the emotional inhibitor. The code right in front of him. Because even an idiot knows how to use computers these days. Knows how to get past firewalls and passwords. Knows how to find something encrypted in the Lumic Family Database, under er. What was it, Pete? Binary what?"

"Binary nine."

"An idiot could find that code. Cancellation code. And he'd keep on typing. Keep fighting. Anything to save his friends."

"Your words are irrelevant."

"Yeah, talk too much, that's my problem. Lucky I got you that cheap tariff, Rose, for all our long chats. On your phone." He made the phone signal with his hand.

"You will be deleted."

"Yes. Delete, control, hash. All those lovely buttons. Then, of course, my particular favourite, send. And let's not forget how you seduced all those ordinary people in the first place." He tapped a surface as Rose's phone beeped. "By making every bit of technology compatible with everything else."

"It's for you," she said, tossing him the phone.

"Like this." He put the phone in the docking station, and to my surprise, it fit. The code was transmitted and we watched as the Cybermen before us cried out in pain. The computer screens each had the same set of numbers on them. As they clutched their heads. I watched as one looked at itself in a shiny piece of metal. The instant overwhelming feeling of despair consumed me and I felt my knees buckle. It was so thick and heavy that it was practically suffocating. "I'm sorry."

"What have you done?"

"He gave them their souls back," I snapped off-handishly. The pain was so overwhelming that it almost brought me off my feet. If not for the Doctor's grip on me, I just might have, if not for the Doctor's vice-like grip on me.

"They can see what you've done, Lumic, and it's killing them!" We all ran for the door.

"Delete! Delete! Delete!"

As we ran, there were explosions all around us. The emergency exit was blocked by Cybermen and there were more explosions coming from all directions. Throughout the entire ordeal, I couldn't stop shaking. It wasn't from fear but from the constant emotions I felt from around me. Stumbling, I was pulled upright by the Doctor, who had immediately wrapped his arm around my waist in order to drag me along. He only stopped when there was nowhere else to go. "There's no way out!"

Just then, Rose's phone rang. Answering it, she was silent for a moment. "It's Mickey. He says head for the roof." We all ran up the metal staircase. I tried to ignore the fires that had started behind us. I wanted to cry, feeling the pain and anguish that those people felt. It was a horrible thing to know, to experience. I felt the Doctor's arm move from my waist and his hand take mine. I smiled, knowing I had someone else I could lean on in times like this and that the Doctor was that person. While I was always so hesitant and quick to push him away, I couldn't deny that I was so grateful to have him in my life, that he had become so important to me. Yes, it was always my nature to push those I cared about away, I didn't want to do that with him... not anymore.

When we finally reached the roof, I saw a zeppelin hovering over. I stood there in awe at the sheer size of the thing. While it wasn't the most appealing thing, it was amazing in its own right. "Mickey, where'd you learn to fly that thing?" I heard Rose ask before we took off running again. We stopped when we saw a rope ladder fall. I groaned, knowing we'd have to climb that and really not wanting to.

Pete seemed to share my enthusiasm at the thought of climbing the swaying straw rope. "You've got to be kidding."

"Rose, get up." Once she had, I followed, then the Doctor, and Pete was in the rear. I shut my eyes as the zeppelin rose. It wasn't that I was afraid of heights, it more that there was a fiery pit awaiting me if I fell.

"We did it! We did it!" Rose said to me with a smile.

I was about to join in on her enthusiasm when there was a jolt to the ladder, almost causing us to lose our grip. Looking down, I saw that it was Lumic. A shudder ran down my spine as I watched him climb towards us. The Doctor quickly whipped out his sonic and dropped it into Pete's hand. "Pete! Take this! Use it! Hold the button down! Press it against the rope. Just do it!"

"Jackie Tyler. This is for her!" he yelled as it fell into his hand. He instantly pressed it against the rope until it snapped and Lumic fell. He screamed on the way down and was engulfed by the flames. Pete let out a laugh as I watched on, keeping my tears at bay.

When we reached the Tardis, I immediately stepped in, followed closely by the Doctor. After what had happened, I wanted nothing more than to be alone but I needed to see the Tardis come back to life. Rose on the other hand was outside with Pete and Mickey had gone to look for the Doctor's pinstripe suit. I was watching as he placed the power cell back into the console. A bit of happiness coursed through me when she came to life. We walked outside, hand in hand, both content knowing we could leave. "Rose? We've only got five minutes of power. We've got to go."

"The Doctor could show ya."

"Thank you. For everything."

"Dad…"

"Don't. Just don't," Pete said before walking off. I pulled my hand from the Doctor's and engulfed Rose in a hug. She returned it, squeezing me tightly as she cried. Glancing up, I saw the Doctor scratch the back of his head.

We pulled away as Mickey and Jake came over, the suit in hand. "Here it is. I found it. Not a crease."

"My suit! Good man." He took it from Mickey. "Now then, Jake, we've got to run. But one more thing. Mrs. Moore. Her real name was Angela Price. She's got a husband out there, and children. Find them. Tell them how she died saving the world."

"Yeah, of course I will. "

"Off we go, then."

"Er, thing is, I'm staying," Mickey said, looking everywhere but at Rose.

"You're doing what?"

"You can't."

I was going to say something to Rose but held back, wanting to let her handle it herself. He was her boy… ex-boyfriend and it was the closure they both needed.

"It sort of balances out, because this world lost its Ricky, but there's me. And there's work to be done with all those Cybermen still out there." I smiled at him, knowing his true reason for staying behind.

"But you can't stay."

"Rose, my gran's here. She's still alive. My old gran, remember her?"

"Yeah." Rose began to tear up again.

"She needs me."

"What about me? What if I need you?"

"Yeah, but Rose, you don't. It's just you, Cerys, and him, isn't it. We had something a long time ago, but not anymore."

"Well, we'll come back. We can travel anywhere. Come and see you, yeah?"

"We can't. I told you, travel between parallel worlds is impossible. We only got here by accident. We.. we fell through a crack in time. When we leave, I've got to close it. We can't ever return."

"Doctor." I watched the two shake hands.

"Take Rose's phone. It's got the code. Get it out there. Stop those factories. And good luck, Mickey the idiot," the Doctor said, playfully giving Mickey a slap on the face.

"Watch it." When they were finished, I gave him a hug. "Thank you, for sticking up for me."

I sadly smiled. "We're friends. Sorry it took so long for it to happen."

"We were both being idiots." I laughed, pulling him into another hug before going back into the Tardis with the Doctor.

I was in his arms, enjoying being close to him when Rose entered the Tardis. I pulled away from him, going to hug her as he went to the console. Flipping switches and pressing buttons, we entered the time vortex, only to land moments later. Walking out, I saw we were in the Tyler living room. Rose went up to her mother, embracing her. "You're alive. Oh, mum, you're alive."

"Well, I was the last time I looked," Jackie joked as Rose tightly hugged her. "What is it? What's happened, sweetheart? What's wrong? Where did you go?"

"Far away. That was… far away."

"Where's Mickey."

"He's gone home." I nodded, before I returned to the Tardis, leaving the three of them alone.

I found myself lying on the floor in my room, looking up at the ceiling, thinking. There was nothing in particular that crossed my mind, nothing of real importance. My mind just wandered wherever it pleased although I noticed they drifted towards the Doctor and my relationship with Rose. It was weird. She had pushed us together, giving our relationship the nudge it needed. I knew I still had no claim to him, but I wanted to, I wanted to say he was mine and mine alone. The more I thought of it, the more I wanted to tell him. It was strange, me finally acknowledging that I wanted him, that I was either falling or had already fallen for the man. It's almost as if I could see myself with him; he and I fitting perfectly. I sighed, knowing he probably couldn't feel that way, even if I knew the opposite. He had no idea the effect he had on people, on me, and I didn't really want him to know... at least not yet.

* * *

_Oh my gosh I am soooooo sorry it took FOREVER to post this chapter. In the time I was away, I ended up getting a DW tattoo, helping my aunt move, mountain biking, and returning to Maryland. All fun. And now, I'm distracted by the DW marathon on BBC America. AHHH only 3 days left for the new season. So we now have a slightly different mentality for Cerys. While she was so confused by everything, and started the episode quite upset with the lovable Time Lord, she at least understands just how important he is to her... as well as knowing her own faults. But now onto the fun part... REVIEWS._

_**yellowroseofthenw:** Of course she did. Cerys would be a complete jerk if she ended up going in the opposite direction. As for that, Spoilers :)_

_**I'm-a-Klaus-addict:** I do love Mickey myself. As for Cerys not wanting to travel with the Doctor, think of it more like why Martha left. Cerys hates how she feels around the Doctor, in the aspect of her emotions and such so her leaving would be her way of saving herself, even if she'd be miserable for the rest of her life. But then again, I think for him, she's willing to deal with it all because of how much she loves him. But it was adorable. I figured since they had the tumultuous start, they deserved a cute scene. _

_**NicoleR85:** Glad you loved it. He will apologise but it won't be as soon as you might hope though. _

_**idon'thaveagentleheart1105:** Loved the slaps as well. But Cerys might end up leaving him one of these days *wink wink*. But Eleven and Cerys... all I can say is that it'll be a bit of fun _

_**bakaprincess85:** Welcome the story :) Thanks for your review and I definitely didn't take it as an insult. I can understand your point and yes, maybe she doesn't seem to be that strong but in my eyes she is. Yes, she has a shetload of weakness and yeah, she might not be the ideal girl the Doctor would fall for but for him to take her on, she'd have to have some strength to her. But eh, that's your opinion and I totally respect it. I'm glad you're enjoying the story otherwise. :)_

_** :** Glad you love it and that it's a favourite. That honestly brought a smile to my face. I have noticed the typos as I've gone back to read it after posting but truthfully, I've been to lazy to post the corrections. Thanks so much for all you've said. I sat here trying to figure out how to reply but I couldn't haha. It took me by surprise quite a bit. I do hope you enjoyed this chapter and will enjoy the ones to come. _


	31. Was It All a Lie?

_Running, always running. I had run from him when we first met, pushed him away in fear that he would reject me like everyone else. Just doing that brought pain to my hearts. In the end, he had accepted me, my past, my flaws, and my lineage. He was happy with me; we were happy. And then the war came. He was taken, to fight and I was left with a child, no older than 167. He was everything I had hoped for in a child, so much like his father. He was taken from me, my little Kiere, taken to fight in the war. I later learned he was killed. The pain I felt was unfathomable. Without him, I had no comfort. I ran, farther than I had gone. Without thinking of the consequences, not thinking of my love, I entered the darkness and allowed it to consume me._

I awoke in a cold sweat with tears inching down my cheeks. The pain I felt was worse than anything I'd experienced; it was a mother's grief. I curled into a ball, rocking back and forth, in a weak attempt to calm myself. I barely heard my room door open but when I felt strong arms holding me, I knew who had come to my side. I turned, faced him and buried my face into his chest. He was still in his suit, meaning he had been in the console room working on the Tardis. Neither of us spoke as he comforted me and soon my sobs dissipated into small gasps of breath. When I was finally calm enough, I started to pull away, only for his grip to tighten. "Doctor…"

"Shh. You're safe."

"He died. Kiere died and it's my fault."

He pushed me away a fraction of an inch but I nestled in closer. "How do you know that name? How is it your fault?"

"I'm sorry, Doctor."

"Cerys?" I ignored him, curling deeper into his embrace as the tears flowed freely. I couldn't stop them, not with the pain I felt. It was worse than anything I'd ever felt... almost as if a piece of my had died. "Please, talk to me."

"I can't. Why am I having these dreams? I don't want them."

"You're connected to her."

"To your dead lover? That's sick," I spat as I moved away from him, confused and suspicious. "What's the Tardis trying to do? What the hell are _you_ playing at, Doctor?"

"You've had those dreams long before we met."

"I know but I don't know why."

"You're her. You are literally her." I stared at him, my expression hardening.

"If I were a… like you… I think I'd know."

"Not unless you used the Chameleon Arch."

"How…" I asked, trailing off as I shook my head. No, I wasn't that girl. I was Cerys, human and unordinary. I wasn't the person the Doctor pined for or loved. None of it made any sense.

"It changes your cells, makes you into whatever you want it to."

"And she… chose human."

"Yes."

"You've known all along, haven't you?"

"Since our fourth adventure, although it was the third that helped me realize it."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I couldn't. I had to be sure."

"So that's what you meant before you regenerated. All those things you did, and have done since, it's because you knew."

"I was hoping that we could have a much better relationship than we did on Gallifrey."

"Was it that bad?"

"No. Home, you were always in fear, always uncomfortable with yourself because of who your father was."

"She was…is… a half-breed."

"No, you are my Cerys."

"Does that mean this was all a dream? That I'm not real? Am I just a story, a mirage hiding the coward?"

"You're real, so very real. You're a part of her, a latent personality come through."

"Then I _am_ nothing," I spat, holding back another bout of tears. Everything I'd ever felt was true. I was so unimportant and useless. "This was just so you could get a second chance!"

"No... well, yes. But that was never the intention. I just wanted to know you, Cerys. I would never do anything to hurt you."

"That's a lie. You've already hurt me more times than I could count, Doctor and this- this is just the cherry."

"How can I make it up to you?" the man asked, more so begged.

"Bring me home."

"I can't."

"I want to go home."

"I'm sorry."

"Why won't you bring me home?"

"I'm too selfish. I won't let you go."

"I'm not her! I'm Cerys… I'm human," I snapped pushing, or attempting to at least, away from him. His grip was tight, refusing to let go. "The only reason I know anything is because of those stupid dreams and I barely remember much. You're not trying to help me, you're doing this to help yourself."

"I wasn't, Rys…"

"DON'T call me that! That's what you called her and it's not my name."

"You remember that?"

"I have a dead woman's memories…"

"What did they do to you… her?"

I shivered, recalling the nightmares I had had. "It doesn't matter. They're gone as is she." I took in a shaky breath, refusing to return her to him.

"You're right. They are gone," he replied, releasing me. "I'm so very sorry Cerys. I did want another chance but I never thought of you as her except for when you did things that she would do. If I'm being honest, I just wanted you… as you were. I wanted us to have a relationship that was better than when I was with her. But you have to believe me, I never once thought of her as we kissed or hugged. It was just you… from the minute I took your hand." He took a breath, his eyes never leaving mine.

"Why are you saying that?"

"Because I love you, Cerys." My breath hitched and I looked away. While I wanted so much to believe him, I couldn't . His words meant nothing to me, and they were just that... words.

"You just don't want me to cross with you."

He reached a hand up and caressed my face. He stopped at my chin and made me look at him. "I don't care about that," he growled before his voice softened, "I need you to know that I love you, Cerys Tyler, not because of who you were but who you _are_, right here, right now." With that said, he gently kissed my lips. I didn't pull away; I should have but I didn't _want_ to. Even angry, I still wanted to be with him- even if my life wasn't truly mine. He was like a drug, addictive and bad for me all the same. I was taken from my thoughts as he nibbled on my bottom lip, asking for entry. I didn't deny him; I couldn't. Granting him entrance, I let him explore my mouth, relishing it. Before it could go too far, I pulled away, meeting his confused gaze.

"I-I can't… I need time to sort this all out," I stuttered out, knowing that even while I needed time, I didn't want any. Nothing mattered but being with him and I hated it because it made me sound like an idiot… like a love crazed school girl. That wasn't me but it seemed with him, while my feelings mattered, I couldn't deny his advances. Still, I wanted to make it known that I wasn't his dead lover. I was me, Cerys Tyler.

"Alright," he replied kissing my forehead.

I took in a breath, trying to regain my composure. Although I was still confused and angry with it all, I didn't want to show it… I just wanted things to go back to normal and I was the queen of pretending I was perfectly fine. If I could convince the Doctor I was over the most devastating news I'd heard so far, then I should get an Emmy. I needed time to sort through it all… alone and with no distractions. While I knew the feelings of disgust, fear, animosity, and melancholy would fester within me, I also knew it was more of an incentive to speed up my plan, to execute my last attempt. I wasn't important or needed. I was just a mirage; a hollowed out being waiting to be filled again. I was nothing but a place holder for the woman he adored and loved more than the Universe itself. Sighing, I glanced up at him, meeting his watchful gaze. I forced a small smile to my lips, hoping it didn't come out as a grimace. "All this time, you've been trying to have me fall for you as a human. Silly man, you already had me," I said lightly, trying to cover up my inner turmoil the best I could. He chuckled before releasing me. I pouted as he stood, pulling me along with him. "I was quite comfortable, Mr Spock." He grimaced at the name as I laughed. When I finished, I gave him a quick peck on the lips and pushed him out of the door. "Changing."

"Nothing I haven't seen," he said cheekily.

I slapped his arm, my cheeks heating up as I continued to play along. There was no way that would affect me. He wasn't even talking about me… it was all about _her_. "And you won't be seeing."

"Dress for the fifties." I nodded and shut the door, leaning against if for a moment in an attempt to calm myself before I began the search for something to wear.

I found Rose and the Doctor standing outside the Tardis wearing a pink dress with a navy leather jacket with sleeves that cut off at her elbows. She had on dark, see through tights and pink high heels. The Doctor was in his usual pinstripe suit, wearing white Chuck Taylors with his hair done up in a Teddy boy quaff. When I stepped out, his eyes raked over my body. I gave a satisfied smile that the outfit I had chosen, fitted black capris with a short sleeved striped shirt tucked in, a black belt around my waist, and a pair of orange heels, had been to his liking. I watched him take in a breath of air as I walked over to them.

"I thought we'd be going for the Vegas era, you know the white flares and the, grr, chest hair," Rose commented.

The Doctor glanced at her. "You are kidding, aren't you? You want to see Elvis, you go for the late fifties. The time before burgers. When they called him the Pelvis and he still had a waist. What's more, you see him in style." He went back inside and rode out on a blue scooter moments later, stopping in front of Rose, wearing a white crash helmet and shades. The two of us laughed at the sight. Almost as if he read my mind, he pointed into the Tardis. I ran in and rode out with a scooter of my own. "You going my way, doll?" he asked Rose, all the while impersonating Elvis' voice.

"Is there any other way to go, daddy-o?" Rose asked as she put on her pink shades and walked over to the scooter. "Straight from the fridge, man."

"Hey, you speak the lingo."

"Oh well, me, mum, Cerys, Cliff Richard movies every Bank Holiday Monday."

"I wasn't around for all of them though."

"But you were around, that's what matters." I beamed at her as she got on the back of the Doctor's scooter and put on a matching pink helmet.

"Ah, Cliff. I knew your mother'd be a Cliff fan." We all laughed as we rode off down the street.

"Where we off to?"

"Ed Sullivan TV Studios. Elvis did Hound Dog on one of the shows. There were loads of complaints. Bit of luck, we'll just catch it."

"And that'll be TV studios in, what, New York?"

"That'll be the one."

"Are you sure?" I asked as a red London double decker bus drove pass and seeing the Union Flag hanging everywhere. We stopped by a red post box, the Doctor finally seeing the flags.

Rose laughed. "Ha! Digging that New York vibe."

"Well…this could still be New York. I mean, this looks very New York to me. Sort of London-y New York, mind." I shook my head at him and glanced at Rose who nodded. We both knew we weren't in New York.

"What are all those flags for?" He shrugged and we took off down the street.

As we drove down Florizel Street, I noticed a television set being delivered from a black van. Finding it odd, I drove over to them, leaving the Doctor and Rose to follow. I pulled up just as the man finished speaking to what seemed to be his customer. "What do you mean by the great occasion?" I asked, hopping off my moped.

"Where've you been living, out in the Colonies?" I nodded, finding it to be the easiest explanation to my ignorance. "Coronation, of course."

"What Coronation's that then?" the Doctor asked.

"What do you mean? _The_ _Coronation_."

"It's the Queen's. Queen Elizabeth," Rose said.

"Oh! Is this 1953?"

"Last time I looked," the older gentleman stated. "Time for a lovely bit of pomp and circumstance, what we do best."

"Look at all the TV aerials. Looks like everyone's got one. That's weird. My nan said tellies were so rare they all had to pile into one house."

"Not around here, love. Magpie's Marvellous Tellies," the man pointed to the van, "only five quid."

I gave a small smile. "And you're Magpie?"

"I am. And what's your name, dear?"

"Oh, but this is a brilliant year," the Doctor said, cutting in. "Classic! Technicolor, Everest climbed, everything off the ration. The nation throwing off the shadows of war and looking forward to a happier, brighter future."

Rose and I laughed at the man's antics a moment before we heard the shouts of a woman. "Someone help me, please! Ted!" Turning to see what was going on, we saw two men in black suits putting someone, Ted, with a blanket over his head in the back of the car. The three of us ran over. "Leave him alone! He's my husband! Please."

"What's going on?"

A young man ran out of a house. "Oi, what are you doing?"

"Police business. Now, get out of the way, sir."

"Who did they take? Do you know him?" Rose asked the boy.

"Must be Mister Gallagher." The car drove off. "It's happening all over the place. They're turning into monsters."

A man came to the door. "Tommy! Not one word! Get inside now!" the man, his father I'm guessing, barked.

"Sorry. I'd better do as he says." I nodded as I stared at his father, anger rushing through me. The Doctor, placing a hand on my shoulder, broke my concentration. Sighing, I followed as the two walked back to our scooters. Hopping on, we took off after the car.

We had followed the car to a dead end with a gate and men sweeping and doing other things. We stopped and I watched them suspiciously, feeling that something was very wrong. Cars don't disappear and people shouldn't be taken from their homes. "Lost them. How'd they get away from us?"

"Surprised they didn't turn back and arrest you for reckless driving. Have you actually passed your test?"

"Men in black?" the Doctor asked, ignoring Rose. "Vanishing police cars? This is Churchill's England, not Stalin's Russia."

"Monsters, that boy said. Maybe we should go and ask the neighbours."

"That's what I like about you. The domestic approach."

"Thank you," Rose said with a grin before it fell, "hold on, was that an insult?" Without answering, the Doctor revved the engine and took off. "Whoa!"

"Both," I laughed as we drove back.

Returning to Florizel Street, the three of us stood at the door of the boy who had spoken to Rose earlier. The Doctor rang the bell and we waited a bit before the door opened and the burly man answered. "Hi," the three of us said in unison.

"Who are you, then?"

"Let's see, then. Judging by the look of you, family man, nice house, decent wage, fought in the war, therefore I represent Queen and country." The Doctor held up the psychic paper and the man's eyes widened. "Just doing a little check of Her forthcoming Majesty's subjects before the great day. Don't mind if I come in? Nah, I didn't think you did. Thank you." He pushed past the man, with Rose behind him. I eyed the man warily before sliding past him as well. "Not bad. Very nice. Very well kept. I'd like to congratulate you, Mrs…"

"Connolly."

"Now then, Rita. I can handle this. This gentleman's a proper representative. Don't mind the wife, she rattles on a bit." I glanced at the man angrily and went to stand by Rose as she sat on the arm on a chair.

"Well, maybe she should rattle on a bit more. I'm not convinced you're doing your patriotic duty." I glanced down and saw a pile of flags on a table. "Nice flags. Why are they not flying?"

"There we are Rita, I told you, get them up. Queen and country."

The woman got to her feet. "I'm sorry."

"Get it done," Mr Connolly snapped, making her jump a bit. "Do it now." My eyes hardened, now realizing exactly why I was so wary of the man.

The Doctor stopped her from moving. "Hold on a minute."

"Like the gentleman says."

"Hold on a minute. You've got hands, Mister Connolly. Two big hands. So why is that your wife's job?"

"Well, it's housework, innit?"

"And that's a woman's job?"

"Of course it is."

I snorted, bringing the man's attention to me. While I was glad the Doctor realised what type of man Mr Connolly was, the man's eyes on me was a bit unnerving. He sort of reminded me of my uncle and that instantly brought on another bout of anger that I did my best to control, especially since I was already fuming. "Tell me, what is the Queen's gender?"

"She's a female."

"And are you suggesting the Queen does the housework?" the Doctor asked.

Mr Connolly was silent for a moment. "No. Not at all."

"Then get busy," the Doctor said as he handed the man the flags.

"Right. Yes, sir. You'll be proud of us, sir. We'll have Union Jacks left, right and centre."

This time Rose spoke up. "Excuse me, Mister Connolly. Hang on a minute. Union Jacks?"

"Yes, that's right, isn't it?"

"That's the Union Flag. It's the Union Jack only when it's flown at sea."

"Oh. Oh, I'm sorry. I do apologise."

"Well, don't get it wrong again, there's a good man. Now get to it!" I smirked, Rose was clearly enjoying herself. She glanced at me smiling.

"Right then! Nice and comfy, at her Majesty's leisure. Union Flag?" he asked Rose as we settled into the sofa.

"Mum went out with a sailor."

"Oh ho ho ho. I bet she did. Anyway, I'm the Doctor and this is Cerys and Rose, and you are?"

"Tommy."

"Well, sit yourself down, Tommy," the Doctor said patting the spot between them. Rita sat down on the opposite chair as well. I was the only one standing. "Have a look at this. I love telly, don't you?"

"Yeah, I think it's brilliant."

"Good man!" He turned his attention to the television before calling over to Mr Connolly. "Keep working, Mister C!" I heard the man fumble but paid little mind to him. My focus was on Rita and Tommy. "Now, why don't you tell me what's wrong?"

"Did you say you were a doctor?"

"Yes, I am."

"Can you help her? Oh please, can you help her, Doctor?"

"Now then, Rita. I don't think the gentleman needs to know…"

"No, the gentleman does."

"Tell us what's wrong, and we can help." Rita burst into tears and Rose went and wrapped an arm around her, comforting the woman. "I'm sorry. It's all right. Come here. It's okay."

"Hold on a minute. Queen and country's one thing, but this is my house! What the…" He threw the bunting down. "What the hell am I doing? Now you listen here, Doctor. You may have fancy qualifications, but what goes on under my roof is my business."

I stood, staring at the man. "But people are being taken-"

"I am talking!" I stifled a shiver and stared at the husky man.

"And I am not listening," I calmly stated, walking over to him. "Why would I listen to an arrogant man who abuses his wife and child? I've dealt with men like you and you're nothing but a coward. For a man who fought in the war, who fought for the freedom and rights of his people and the rights they hold, how can you even call yourself a man? Only a weak man goes after those who cannot defend themselves and while you certainly look as if you are quite strong, you're just a pathetic insecure bully who has nothing better to do than bully the people who are supposed to love you. Men like you disgust me. You don't deserve what you have, Mr Connolly."

"I beg your pardon, little girl?" the burly man asked, flabberghasted. It was obvious he had never been spoken to in such a way, especially by a woman. "How dare you. I will not be disrespected in my own house!"

He raised his hand to strike me but before he could do anything, the Doctor pulled me back, coming between us. "You listen right now, Mister Connolly. I am being very calm at the moment. You just raised your hand to someone I care about and I do _not _take that lightly. You are staring into a deep, dark pit of trouble if you don't let me help. So I'm ordering you, sir! Tell me what's going on!"

There were three thumps from above us. "She won't stop," Rita cried before there were more thumps. "She never stops."

"We started hearing stories, all round the place," Tommy started. "People who've changed. Families keeping it secret because they were scared. Then the police started finding out. We don't know how, no one does." I glared at Mr Connolly, feeling he knew something about the police showing up. "They just turn up, come to the door and take them, any time of the day or night."

"Show me."

We walked up the stairs to a room towards the end of the hall. Opening the door, I saw that the lights were off and there was the silhouette of someone standing in the centre of the room, closer to the window. While I stood off to the side, Rose, the Doctor, and Tommy inched closer to the woman. "Gran? It's Tommy. It's alright, Gran. I've brought help." He flipped a switch and the room was bathed in light, revealing an older woman void of a face. I stared in shock, wondering what had the power to take a person's façade.

"Her face is completely gone." The Doctor scanned her with the sonic. "Scarcely an electrical impulse left. Almost complete neural shutdown. She's ticking over. It's like her brain has been wiped clean."

"What are we going to do, Doctor? We can't even feed her."

"We've got company," Rose said as we heard the front door smash open.

"It's them. They've come for her!" Rita cried.

"Quickly. What was she doing before this happened? Where was she? Tell me. Quickly, think!"

"I can't think. She doesn't leave the house! She was just…"

Two men entered the room. "Hold on a minute. There are three important, brilliant, and complicated reasons why you should listen to me. One-" before the Doctor could finish, he was punched in the face, knocked unconscious by the force of impact.

"Doctor!" Rose cried as she tried to wake him up. She looked up at me. "Do something!" I glanced at her and then at the men who had hastily exited the room with the older woman in tow and Mr Connolly close behind.

"I'm going after them. Stay with him, no matter what. You know just how stupid he could be." She nodded and I ran off, hopping on my moped and speeding after them.

* * *

_Ha, I'm sure no one was expecting this update. For a while I've wanted to start posting every day but never had the time. Well, as of now, I'm going to stick to a new schedule that I hope everyone likes. Anyways, the BIG reveal has finally come. What did you think? I hope Cerys' reaction was realistic enough. At first I had her take it in stride and laugh it off but that's nothing like her. Hopefully this (the third) attempt is. Yeah, she does end up kissing him but she is definitely not letting it go because that's just not her. And who loved Cerys telling off that brute Connolly. I loved writing that part. I wanted to give her a chance to shine, even with the crap with the Doctor going on. But now to the reviews. _

_**dreamlighting:** Thanks for the welcome. Yeah, I have a chapter written where she stays with him and am debating whether or not I should post it as an AE to the chapter or use it for the new fic I'm starting to work on. I'll decide soon._

_**idonothaveagentleheart1105:** Cerys would be EXTREMELY miserable although she'd probably never admit it. Although I think by Doomsday, she'd definitely return to him. Cerys and Eleven will definitely be fun. _

_**NicoleR85:** Glad to hear. And I have happily obliged. Cerys + Donna= an extremely grumpy Time Lord ;)_


	32. The Idiot's Lantern

When I reached the dead end, I smirked, knowing exactly how they had pulled off the disappearing car as I saw the same men sweeping the rather clean street. Leaving the scooter in an alleyway, I looked for an area I could easily sneak in. While the front door approach was more Rose's style, I loved to skulk into unsanctioned places. It was one of the reasons I often found myself in jail, waiting for Jackie to pick me up. When I finally found an opening, I hopped over the gate and found myself in a large room with a holding cell. I walked to the lock, anger rising in me as I saw the amount of people locked inside, all without faces. Hearing footsteps, I turned to see an older gentleman standing behind me with his arms crossed. Grabbing my arm, he dragged me into an office and pushed me into a chair. He then proceeded to tie me to the highly uncomfortable seating ornament. "What the hell are you doing? Let go of me."

"What are you doing here?"

"Why are there people in cages?" I countered. "What kind of show are you running? Where are their faces?"

"Sir, we have another one." I turned to see the Doctor being led into the room. I groaned as he shot me a sheepish smile.

"And here I thought at least you wouldn't get caught. Well there's always Rose. By the way, where is she?"

"She was going to slow."

"So you left her with an abusive prick? You idiot!"

The man before us cleared his throat, gaining our attention and ultimately ending our squabble. "Start from the beginning. Tell me everything you know."

"Untie her first." He did as the Doctor said. Once released, I stood and punched the man before I walked over to the Doctor. He gave me an amused smile before turning his attention to the guy. "Sorry, I should have warned you she has a mean swing."

The man rubbed his jaw. "Tell me what you know."

"Well, for starters, I know you can't wrap your hand around your elbow and make your fingers meet."

"Don't get clever with me," the man said annoyed. "You were there today at Florizel Street, and now breaking into this establishment. Now you're connected with this. Make no mistake."

"Well, the thing is, Detective Inspector Bishop."

"How do you know my name?"

"I'm very clever."

"No, you're a moron," I snapped before turning to the DI, "it's written inside your collar."

"Bless your mum. But I can't help thinking, Detective Inspector, you're not exactly doing much detective inspecting, are you?"

"I'm doing everything in my power."

"No, you're just taking people and hiding them."

"Don't tell me orders from above, hmm?" DI Bishop looked down. "Coronation Day. The eyes of the world are on London Town so any sort of problem just gets swept out of sight."

"The nation has an image to maintain."

"But doesn't it drive you mad… doing nothing? Don't you want to get out there and investigate?"

"Of course I do. But," Bishop sat down, "with all the crowds expected, we haven't got the man power. Even if we did, this is beyond anything we've ever seen. I just don't know any more. Twenty years on the force, I don't even know where to start. We haven't the faintest clue what's going on."

"Well, that could change."

"How?"

The Doctor stood. "Start from the beginning. Tell me everything you know."

The three of us looked at a map. "We started finding them about a month ago. Persons left sans visage. Heads just blank."

"Is there any sort of pattern?"

"Yes, spreading out from North London. All over the city. Men, women, kids, grannies. The only real lead is there's been quite a large number in-"

"Florizel Street," the Doctor and I finished together.

Another man entered the room. "Found another one, sir." Although I heard him speak, I also heard another set of footsteps.

"Oh, er, good man, Crabtree." I turned from the map and gasped, seeing the pink skirt and shoes. "Here we are, Doctor. Take a good look. See what you can deduce." Crabtree removed the blanket.

"Rosie," I whispered as I walked up to her. "Who did this to you?"

"You know her?"

"Know her? That's my sister."

"They found her in the street, apparently, over by Leicester Square, abandoned."

"That's unusual. That's the first one out in the open. Heaven help us if something happens in public tomorrow for the big day. We'll have Torchwood on our backs then, make no mistake."

"They did what?" the Doctor asked.

"I'm sorry?"

I rolled my eyes, trying to calm myself. "They left her where?"

"Just… in the street."

"They left her in the street. My sister. They took her face and left her out in the street. Well, that just puts everything into perspective. Want to know why?"

"No."

"Don't care. Now, there is nothing that is going to stop me from finding who did this to her, well besides the Doctor but I really doubt he will. And when I do find the culprit, and trust me, I will- I'll make it pay!" I felt the Doctor grab my arm and pull me into a calming embrace that I immediately pulled from. I didn't want to calm down. I wanted to continue feeling the immense anger that had piled atop what I already felt. There was nothing else to it, I was going to find out who had taken Rose's beautiful face and when I did, I would make it beg for mercy it would never receive.

"Come on," he said as he led me outside.

"The big day dawns."

We returned to the Connolly house. The moment we did, I stormed up the stairs and rang the bell. Moments later, Tommy opened the door. The Doctor stood beside me, his arm around my waist, his thumb making circles in my back. He was trying so very hard to calm me and unbeknownst to him, it was doing the opposite. "Tommy, talk to me. I need to know exactly what happened inside your house."

Mr Connolly soon appeared. "What the blazes do you think you're doing?"

"I want to help, dad."

"Mister Connolly-"

"Shut your face, you, whoever you are. We can handle this ourselves," he spat at the Doctor before turning to Tommy. "Listen, you little twerp. You're hardly out of the blooming' cradle, so I don't expect you to understand. But I've got a position to maintain. People round here respect me. It matters what people think."

"Is that why you did it, dad?"

"What do you mean? Did what?"

"You ratted on Gran. How else would the police know where to look, unless some coward told them-"

"How dare you!" He advanced on the boy. "Do you think I fought a war just so a mouthy little scum like you could call me a coward?" He had forgotten who had given the boy the word. I clenched my fists, wanting so badly to punch him but I knew it was a fight that needed to be had between father and son. Sighing, I stormed down the stairs, irritated and even more peeved.

"You don't get it, do you? You fought against fascism, remember? People telling you how to live, who you could be friends with, who you could fall in love with, who could live and who had to die. Don't you get it? You were fighting so that little twerps like me could do what we want, say what we want. Now you've become just like them. You've been informing on everyone, haven't you? Even Gran. All to protect your precious reputation."

Rita came to the door. "Eddie, is that true?"

"I did it for us, Rita. She was filthy. A filthy, disgusting thing!" the man said flailing his arms about.

"She's my mother! All the others you informed on, all the people in our street, our friends."

"I had to. I-I did the right thing."

"The right thing for us or for you, Eddie? You go, Tommy. Go with the Doctor and do some good. Get away from this house, it's poison. We had a ruddy monster under this roof, all right, but it weren't my mother!" She then slammed the door in the man's face.

"Rita!"

"Are you coming Tommy?" He nodded and we walked off, leaving Mr Connolly to himself.

As we walked down Florizel Street, the Doctor held tightly to my hand. While I had made some discreet efforts to pull away from him, the man's grip only grew tighter. Sighing, I turned my attention to the commotion around me. As we walked, we passed people laying down tabled for a street party. "Tommy, tell me about that night. The night she changed?"

"She was just watching the telly."

"Rose said it. She guessed it straight away. Of course she did. All these aerials in one little street. How come?"

"Bloke up the road, Mister Magpie, he's selling them cheap." As Tommy said that, the Doctor and I took off down the road.

"Come on!"

When we got to Magpie's the Doctor broke in. I followed after, not really caring any more. "It's too quiet." The Doctor nodded in agreement.

"Here, you can't do that…" Bishop called from outside, stopping when I shot him a glare.

"Shop!" the Doctor yelled as he rang the bell that sat on the counter. "If you're here, come out and talk to me! Magpie!"

"Maybe he's out."

"Looks like it." He began to search through drawers and found something. Holding it up, I saw it was a portable television. "Oh, hello. This isn't right. This is very much not right. Tastes like iron. Bakelite." He placed it on the table. "Put together with human hands, yes, but the design itself." With the sonic, he began to scan the device. "Oh, beautiful work. That is so simple."

"That's incredible. It's like a television, but portable. A portable television."

The Doctor moved the sonic from the device and into the air. "It's not the only power source in this room." Before he could do anything, I stopped him, pointing to the television screens that covered the walls. Each had a different face mouthing help me.

"Gran?" Tommy said.

I looked at a bottom one to see Rose calling out for the Doctor and me. "We're on our way."

Just then Magpie entered the room. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I want my friend restored, and I think that's beyond a little backstreet electrician," the Doctor snapped as he towered over the flinching man, "so tell me, who's really in charge here?"

"Yoo hoo! I think that must be me. Ooh, this one's smart as paint." The Doctor walked back to where Tommy, DI Bishop, and I were standing. I glared at the screen with anger and hatred.

"Is she talking to us?"

"I'm sorry," Magpie started. "I'm afraid you've brought this on yourselves. May I introduce you to my new friend."

"Jolly nice to meet you."

"Oh my God, it's her, that woman off the telly."

"It's using her image," I told Bishop.

"What? What are you?"

"I'm the Wire, and I will gobble you up, pretty boy. Every last morsel." The black and white image turned to colour. "And when I have feasted, I shall regain the corporeal body, which my fellow kind denied me."

"Good Lord. Colour television!"

"Your own people tried to stop you?"

"They executed me. But I escaped in this form and fled across the stars."

"And now you're trapped in the television." It changed back to black and white.

"Not for much longer."

"Doctor, Cerys, is this what got my Gran?"

I nodded. "It feeds off electrical activity of the brain. Thing is, it's a gluttonous pig, taking people's faces and their essences."

"And you let her do it, Magpie."

"I had to. She allowed me my face. She promised to release me at the time of manifestation."

"What does that mean?" Tommy asked.

"The appointed time. My crowning glory."

"Doctor, the coronation!"

"For the first time in history, millions gathered around a television set." The Doctor approached the television. "But you're not strong enough yet, are you? You can't do it all from here. That's why you need this," he said holding up the portable device. "You need something more powerful! This will turn a big transmitter into a big receiver."

"What a clever thing you are, the both of you! But why fret about it? Why not just relax? Kick off your shoes and enjoy the Coronation. Believe me, you'll be glued to the screen." I watched as energy tendrils reached out for us.

"Doctor!"

"Hungry! Hungry! The Wire is hungry! Ah, this one is tasty. Oh, I'll have lashings of him! Delicious!" As she reached me, she instantly pulled back, as if she were burned. "No! It can't be. You were said to be dead!" I stared at her shocked by her words. It didn't last long as the Doctor began to reach for his sonic. "Ah! Armed. He's armed and clever. Withdraw! Withdraw!" The Doctor, Tommy and Bishop collapsed. I rushed over to Tommy, checking that he was all right. "The box, Magpie! The box!" When I saw that Tommy was all right, I checked on Bishop only to find that his face had been taken. "Hold tight." I turned to see her zap herself into the portable telly. "Conduct me to my victory, Magpie." I thought of going after the two but I rushed to the Doctor's side, shaking him.

"Oh, you idiot, wake up!" I huffed out a breath and kissed him. Almost instantly I felt his arms snake around my waist. I pulled away, pushing him back to the floor. "Good, you're awake. Now to get Tommy."

"You aren't going to wake him that way, are you?"

"Don't know, I just might," I teased. He pouted as I laughed and shook Tommy up.

"What happened?" the boy asked as he came to.

"Where's Magpie?"

"He left. Took the Wire with him," I answered.

"We don't even know where to start looking. It's too late."

"It's never too late, as a wise person once said. Kylie, I think. The Wire's got big plans. It'll need. Yes, yes, yes, it's got to harvest half the population. Millions and millions of people and where are we?"

"Muswell Hill."

"Muswell Hill. Muswell Hill! Which means Alexandra Palace, biggest TV transmitter in North London." He extended his arms out in emphasis. "Oh, that's why it chose this place. Tommy?"

"What are we going to do?"

"We're going shopping."

I laughed at the two as they ran around the shop. "Is this what you want?" Tommy asked as he help up a valve.

"Perfect! Right, I need one more thing." He handed Tommy the pile and ran into the Tardis. He emerged a minute later, smiling. "Got it. Let's go."

We all took off to Alexandra Palace. As we ran, the Doctor was putting together some contraption. When we reached, Tommy pointed out Magpie climbing up the transmitter.. We tried to get through but a guard stopped us. The Doctor quickly pulled out the psychic paper. "Oh! I'm very sorry, sir, ma'am. Shouldn't you be at the Coronation?"

"They're saving us a seat."

"Who did he think you were?"

I snatched it from his hand looking at it. "King and Queen of Belgium. Really?"

"Well you're the queen of my world."

"Shut up. You're so cheesy," I laughed as we finally reached the control room.

"Keep this switched on. Don't let anyone stop you, Tommy. Everything depends on it. You understand?" Tommy nodded. "Stay here with him." He grabbed a coil of copper wire.

"Right, because I _always_ do what I'm told."

"I'm serious, Cerys. It's dangerous."

"And travelling with you isn't? It took Rose's face."

"I don't want you getting hurt. Besides, I'll take care of it. You're both my responsibility."

"Well, you just expressed my thoughts about you."

"I'll be fine. Always am."

"Just as I am. Now, let's go," I snapped as I stormed out of the room.

As the two of us silently made our way to the transmitter. Climbing up the stairs, we ignored the official as he called out to us, worry laced in his voice. I could practically feel the anger radiating off the man as we barrelled up the metal stairs to the mast. Still, I ignored him and the feeling. I honestly could care less if she was less than happy with my decision. I had made a promise to stop whatever had stolen Rose's face and I was intent on keeping it. The fact that the Wire wanted more faces, only urged me further. She was going to pay for what she'd done, not only to Rose but to all the others.

Glancing up at the mast, I took in a deep breath and began the climb up after the Doctor. He had gotten ahead of me a flight or two back so it was no surprise he had begun the climb first. Yet, looking up, I saw Magpie reach the top and plug the portable device in. The higher we got, the more windy and frigid the air became. I only stopped when I saw the red tendrils leave the transmitter and widen out.

"Oh, feasting," I heard it say as I reached where the Doctor was. "Feasting. The Wire is feasting."

"It's too late!" Magpie cried as we both reached the top of the mast. He was holding on for dear life. "It's too late for all of us!"

"I shall consume you, Doctor." A tendril reached out and hit him, causing the Time Lord to cry out and lose his footing.

"Doctor!"

He ignored me. "I won't let you do this, Magpie!" he called as he continued to climb towards the Wire's startled accomplice.

"Help me, Doctor. It burns. It took my face, my soul."

"You cannot stop the Wire. Soon I shall become manifest." She hit the Doctor again. I ground my teeth and continued to climb up, passing by the Doctor, hoping to reach the box before him and hopefully help Magpie.

"No more of this. You promised me peace!"

"And peace you shall have," she maliciously stated as she electrocuted him. In pain, he released his grip and vanished in a blur of red light. I squinted my eyes due to the brightness but they narrowed as she laughed at the man's demise.

Glancing down at the Doctor, I reached out to touch the device, snapping my hand back as I was burned. A moment later, I saw the Doctor beside me. Without a glance my way, he set off to work, taunting the Wire in the process. "Been burning the candle at both ends? You've over extended yourself, missus. You shouldn't have had a crack at poor old Magpie there," he stated as he grabbed the device. I watched as she zapped him and growled as she continued to laugh. "Rubber soles; swear by them!" She stopped laughing and a tendril reached out for me. I held in a scream as she tried her hardest to electrocute me. Well, she had but I refused to give her any satisfaction. As she did that, the Doctor plugged in the cable but nothing happened.

"Oh dear. Has our plan gone horribly wrong, Doctor?" she taunted. The Doctor glanced down at me and then back at the laughing Wire. Suddenly the vines retreated and she began to scream. The electrocution had also stopped.

"It's closed down, I'm afraid. And no epilogue." She continued to scream before all was silent. Sighing, I rested my forehead against the cool metal. "Are you all right, Cerys?" I nodded and began the climb back down. Reaching the cobbled ground, I gave a small smile to the Doctor who coolly brushed me off and walked back to the control room. Groaning, I followed him, knowing that it would take more than a smile to gain his forgiveness.

As the National Anthem played, the Doctor and I entered the room. While I had gone in all the way, the man stood casually in the door frame. "What have I missed?"

"Doctor! What happened?"

"Sorted. Electrical creature, TV technology, clever alien life form. That's me by the way. I turned the receiver back into a transmitter and I trapped the Wire in here." He removed the tape and held it up. "I just invented the home video thirty years early." He tossed the tape and caught it. "Betamax. Oh, look. God save the Queen, eh?" We turned to the screen and watched as Queen Elizabeth the Second wave at the crowd from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

Once we left we ran to the yard. Tommy instantly ran to his Gran the moment he found her. I looked around for Rose. Spotting her, I silently pointed her out to the Doctor and watched as the two of them hugged while I stood off to the side. She and I looked at each other a moment before we gave the other a tight hug. Afterwards, we were on Florizel Street, enjoying the street party. I stood off to the side with Tommy as the Doctor and Rose walked around. We watched as Eddie left the house and started to walk away from the festivities. "Good riddance."

"So, that's it. New age, new world and there's no room for men like Eddie Connelly."

"That's right. He deserves it."

"Go to him."

"What for?"

"He's your dad."

"He's an idiot."

"So are most dads," I smirked. "Thing is, your smart, smart enough to save the world. You shouldn't stop there. So, go on." Tommy nodded and ran after his father. I watched as he carried his suitcase, a tight smile littered on my face. Turning away from the party, I returned to the Tardis, opting for the library.

Shortly after, I was joined by Rose. I looked up at her, startled by her presence. Her expression was unreadable and it made me very wary as to what to expect from her. In the past, that expression often led to bad things occurring, mainly to others. I'd never really been on the receiving end and from seeing her use it with others, I didn't want to be. "Have you told him?"

"Told him what?"

"You know…"

"I haven't."

"When are you going to tell the man?"

"I don't know, Rosie. I want to tell him but what if he doesn't feel the same way?"

"Are you mad? That man's crazy about you. Even a _blind_ man could see that."

"Rose, you know how bad I am with matters of the heart and he has TWO."

"More love for you. Tell him or I'll "accidentally" have it slip out."

"You wouldn't." She tilted her head to the side, smiling. "All right, you would. But I don't want to tell him yet."

"What, do you want to have a near death experience?"

"So he told you, huh?"

She nodded. "I'm so cross but I can let it slide. I understand why you did it… so thank you. Now, answer my question."

"No, I just don't want to say it without being sure that I feel that way. I don't want to say it and then realize I don't feel that way. It's not right."

"I suppose. But I do think you should tell him something."

"I'll think about it."

"All right. I'm knackered. Having your face stolen took a lot out of me," she laughed.

"I wouldn't know but I'm glad you're all right. It scared the hell out of me."

"Me too. Night then."

"Nighty night. And thanks, Rosie."

"Always," she said before leaving the room. Covering a yawn of my own, I stood and set the book on the end table. With one last look around, I went to my room, showered and crawled into bed, falling into a surprisingly dreamless sleep.

* * *

_Hello all. So, I had attempted to stick to the posting everyday thing but I felt it was a bit easier to post every other day at 00.00 instead. And I wanted to see if I'd get a bit more reviews... not quite although I did appreciate the review I did get. But we finally have the conclusion to The Idiot's Lantern. Was it what you expected? I had to have Cerys climb up with the Doctor. She had said nothing would stop her from finding and destroying the one that in her mind hurt Rose. TO be honest, the first draft, Cerys was going to stay with Tommy but, that didn't seem right, especially since it **was** Rose who had her face stolen. But yeah, next chapter coming Wednesday. _

_**NicoleR85:** Honestly can't wait to post Donna either. It ended up being one of my favourites to write, and I mean all the episodes I wrote. Glad you enjoyed the chapter. :)_


	33. The Impossible Planet

The three of us left the Tardis, looking around at our surroundings. The moment we had landed, I had a sinking feeling that told me we should leave. While I wanted to act on it, it wasn't my decision to make… it was up to the Doctor really. I smiled, thinking about him. He had come into my room after Rose and I talked. He stayed the night, not sleeping; the two of us just talked until I had kicked him out of the room so that I could shower and change. It was becoming a routine, a nice one to be honest. It only made our bond stronger, even with me refusing to acknowledge what he had previously said and if I were still a bit cross and extremely terrified. While on the outside I faked indifference, inside, I was still a whirlwind of disaster. My thoughts were constantly on the fact that I was nothing more than a piece of his dead lover. With each passing hour, it killed me more and more… especially knowing that he wanted her back, no matter what he seemed to say. Who could deny the person they loved? Shaking my head, I brought my attention to my best friend and the Doctor, only to see him petting the Tardis. Rose had her attention on the sentient ship, a worried expression on her face. "What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know what's wrong though. She's sort of queasy. Indigestion, like she didn't want to land."

"Oh, if you think there's going to be trouble, we could always get back inside and go somewhere else," Rose responded and the two laughed almost hysterically. While they were happy to ignore the obvious warning from the Tardis, I was more than wary. As I stood there examining my surrounding, I could help but feel a sense of déjà vu. Something was going to happen, something that none of us would like and I wanted nothing more than to run back into the Tardis and force the Doctor to fly the three of us away. Yet, while that was what _I_ wanted to do, I knew my _companions_ would never do so. The more dangerous, the better.

"I think we've landed inside a cupboard. Here we go." He took my hand and we walked through the door.

"**Open door 15.**"

"Some sort of base. Moon base, sea base, space base. They build these things out of kits."

"**Close door 15.**"

"Glad we're indoors," Rose commented as a loud noise filled the room. "Sounds like a storm out there."

"**Open door 16.**"

"Human design. You've got a thing about kits. The place was put together like a flat pack wardrobe, only bigger. And easier."

We stepped down to an area with tables and chairs and a big 3 on the wall. "**Open door 17.**"

"Oh, it's a sanctuary base."

"**Close door 17.**"

"Deep Space exploration. We've gone way out. And listen to that, underneath. Someone's drilling."

"Welcome to hell."

"Oh, it's not that bad."

"No, over there," Rose said as she pointed to a wall that had the walls painted in big red paint, laughing. Underneath there was alien script written vertically. She only stopped when the Doctor didn't join in.

The Doctor ran over. "Hold on, what does that say? That's weird, it won't translate."

"But I thought the Tardis translated everything, writing as well. We should see English."

"Exactly. If that's not working, then it means this writing is old. Very old. Impossibly old. We should find out who's in charge." He released my hand and spun the wheel on another bulkhead door. "We've gone beyond the reach of the Tardis' knowledge. Not a good move. And if someone's lucky enough…"

"**Open door 19.**" When it opened, aliens with tentacles where noses and mouths should be were standing on the other side. They had a tube coming out from behind the tentacles that ended with a white globe that they held. I grabbed onto the Doctor's arm, shaking in fear as a nightmare I'd had when I first met him hit me. It wasn't the moment that I had seen but I knew it was coming and I knew it would be my death.

He looked down at me curiously before returning his attention to the creatures. "Oh! Right. Hello. Sorry. I was just saying, er, nice base."

"We must feed."

"You've got to what?"

"We must feed."

"Yeah, I think they mean us."

The creatures entered the room, crowding around us as be backed away, the Doctor pushing me behind him. "We must feed. We must feed. We must feed. We must feed." More creatures entered the room chanting the same thing. The Doctor pulled out his sonic pushed me behind him while Rose picked up a bright yellow chair. I groaned, feeling like a helpless victim or a damsel in distress. Moving from behind him, I grabbed the closest thing I could find which was a metal pipe.

"We must feed," one said, before shaking and tapping the globe. "You, if you are hungry."

"Sorry?" the Doctor asked, lowering the sonic.

"We apologise. Electromagnetics have interfered with speech systems. Would you like some refreshment?" Rose placed the chair back down and I did the same with the pipe.

"Um…"

"**Open door 18.**"

Three people entered the room, two men and a woman, the younger man and woman wielding guns. "What the hell? How did…" the older gentleman asked. The creatures moved aside, letting the humans come up to us. The one in the front held up his wrist, speaking into it. "Captain, you're not going to believe this. We've got people. Out of nowhere. I mean, real people. I mean three living people… just standing here right in front of me."

"Don't be stupid, that's impossible."

"I suggest telling them that."

"But you're a sort of space base. You must have visitors now and then. It can't be that impossible," Rose stated.

"You're telling me you don't know where you are?"

"No idea. More fun that way." I rolled my eyes at him.

A woman's voice came over the speakers. "Stand by, everyone. Buckle down. We have incoming. And it's a big one. Quake point five on its way."

The man opened a door as the base began to violently tremor. "Through here, now. Quickly, come on! Move!" We ran through, hearing banging overhead as well as an alarm. "Move it! Come on! Keep moving. Come on! Quickly! Move it!"

We found ourselves in a control room with people working at the panels. They looked up, eyes wide in shock. "Oh my God. You meant it."

"People! Look at that, real people!"

"That's us. Hooray!"

"Yeah, definitely real. My name's Rose," she waved, "Rose Tyler, this is my sister Cerys and this is the Doctor." I waved, warily eyeing the creatures. Something about them didn't feel right to me.

"Come on, the oxygen must be offline. We're hallucinating. They can't be." An Indian man came over, poking my arm. "No, they're real."

"Come on, we're in the middle of an alert! Danny, strap up. The quake's coming in! Impact in thirty seconds! Sorry you three, whoever you are. Just hold on, tight."

"Hold on to what?" Rose asked.

"Anything. I don't care. Just hold on. Ood, are we fixed?" Taking his advice, Rose and I grabbed hold to one side of the railing as the Doctor grabbed the other side.

"Your kindness in this emergency is much appreciated."

"What's this planet called, anyway?"

"Now, don't be stupid. It hasn't got a name. How could it have a name?" The Doctor tilted his head. "You really don't know, do you?"

"And impact!"

The place shock for few seconds, pugnaciously thrashing us about. I kept my hold on a railing, feeling that wasn't the end of it.

"Oh, well, that wasn't so bad," The Doctor said he released the railing, only for the place to shake again, much worse than the last time. Around us the consoles erupted into flames, lights sparked, and valves opened leaving smoke everywhere.

"Okay, that's it." The man who'd led us into the room rushed forward with a fire extinguisher in hand, quickly killing the flames. "Everyone alright? Speak to me, Ida."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Danny?"

"Fine."

"Toby?"

"Yeah, fine."

"Scooti?"

"No damage."

"Jefferson?"

"Check!"

"We're fine, thanks, fine. Yeah, don't worry about us," the Doctor said before checking on Rose and me.

"The surface caved in," the black man, the captain, said, looking at the base's schematics. "I deflected it onto storage five through eight. We've lost them completely. Toby, go and check the rocket link."

"That's not my department."

"Just do as I say, yeah?"

I watched as he left, muttering to himself. "Oxygen holding. Internal gravity fifty six point six. We should be okay."

"Never mind the earthquake, that's, that's one hell of a storm. What is that, a hurricane?"

"You'd need an atmosphere for a hurricane. There's no air out there. It's a complete vacuum."

"Then what's shaking the roof?"

"You're not joking. You really don't know. Well introductions. FYI- as they said in the olden days. I'm Ida Scott, science officer," the older woman said as she joined us in our corner. "Zachary Cross Flane, acting Captain, sir. You've met Mister Jefferson, he's Head of Security. Danny Bartock, Ethics committee."

"Not as boring as it sounds," he said with a smile.

"And that man who just left, that was Toby Zed, Archaeology, and," she began, walking over to the younger blonde and placing her hands on her shoulders for a moment, "is Scooti Manista, Trainee maintenance. And this…this is home." Ida pulled down a lever.

"Brace yourselves. The sight of it sends some people mad." The shutters pulled back to show a white hot, angry, disc with a black centre and black dots falling into it.

"That's a black hole," Rose stated.

"But that's impossible."

"I did warn you," the captain said.

"We're standing under a black hole."

"In orbit," Ida corrected.

"But we can't be…"

"You can see for yourself. We're in orbit."

"But we _can't_ be."

"This lump of rock is suspended in perpetual geostationary orbit around that black hole without falling in. Discuss."

"And that's bad, yeah?"

"Bad doesn't cover it. A black hole's a dead star. It collapses in on itself, in and in and in until the matter's so dense and tight it starts to pull everything else in too. Nothing in the universe can escape it. Light, gravity, time. Everything just gets pulled inside and crushed."

"So, they can't be in orbit. We should be pulled right in."

"We should be dead," the Doctor said, absentmindedly taking my hand as he spoke to the crew. I remained silent, thinking and trying to figure out what exactly was happening.

"And yet, here we are, beyond the laws of physics. Welcome on board."

"But if there's no atmosphere out there, what's that?" Rose asked, motioning to the debris and what looked like clouds moving towards the black hole.

"Stars breaking up. Gas clouds. We have whole solar systems being ripped apart above our heads, before falling into that thing."

"So, a bit worse than a storm, then."

"Just a bit."

"Just a bit, yeah." There was another shake and the door opened, with Toby entering the room.

"The rocket link's fine," Toby said as he entered the room and placed the three rolls of what looked like plans down on the surface behind him.

Zach pulled up a hologram over the central control and we crowded around it to look. "That's the black hole, officially designated K three seven Gen five."

"In the scriptures of the Falltino," Ida started, "this planet is called Kroptor, "the bitter pill". And the black hole is supposed to be a mighty demon. It was tricked into devouring the planet, only to spit it out, 'cause it was poison."

"The bitter pill. I like that."

"Course you would, Rosie," I smirked, bumping her with my hip. She smiled, throwing her arm around my shoulder.

"We are so far out. Lost in the drifts of the universe. How did you even get here?"

"We flew in. You see, this planet's generating a gravity field. We don't know how. We've no idea. But it's kept in constant balance against the black hole," Zach explained. "And the field extends out there as a funnel. A distinct gravity funnel, reaching out into clear space. That was our way in."

"You flew down that thing? Like a rollercoaster?"

"By rights, the ship should have been torn apart. We lost the Captain, which is what put me in charge."

"You're doing a good job," Ida reminded him.

"Yeah, well, needs must."

"But if that gravity funnel closes, there's no way out."

"We had fun speculating about that."

"Oh, yeah. That's the word," Danny said, bopping Scooti on the head with one of the plans. "Fun."

"But that field would take phenomenal amounts of power. I mean not just big, but off the scale!" He moved towards the console pulling me with him. He gave them a questioning glance. "Can I?"

Ida handed him a calculator. "Sure. Help yourself."

I watched him work, intrigued. I let out a sharp breath when I calculated just how much power was needed... without the use of the calculator. The Doctor looked up at me, his eyes urging me to speak. "It would need a power source with an inverted self-extrapolating reflex of six to the power of six every six seconds to generate that gravity field and funnel."

"That's a lot of sixes."

"And it's impossible."

It took us two years to work that out."

"She's very good," the Doctor replied, hugging me.

"But that's why we're here. This power source is ten miles below through solid rock. Point Zero. We're drilling down to try and find it."

"It's giving off readings over ninety stats on the Blazon scale."

"It could revolutionise modern science."

"We could use it to fuel the Empire."

"Or start a war." The Doctor removed his specs.

"It's buried beneath us, in the darkness, waiting," Toby said. My eyes shot to him, examining him curiously.

"What's your job, chief dramatist?" I smirked at Rose's quip.

"Well, whatever it is down there is not a natural phenomenon. And this, er, planet once supported life eons ago, before the human race had even learned to walk," Toby replied.

"We saw the lettering written on the wall. Did you do that?"

"I copied it from fragments we found unearthed by the drilling, but I can't translate it."

"No, neither can I. And that's saying something."

"There was some form of civilisation. They buried something. Now it's reaching out, calling us in."

"And you came."

"Well, how could we not?" Zach turned off the hologram.

"So, when it comes right down to it, why did you come here? Why did you do that? Why? I'll tell you why. Because it was there. Brilliant. Excuse me, er, Zach, wasn't it?"

"That's me."

"Just stand there, because I'm going to hug you. Is that all right?"

"I suppose." The Doctor looked down at me and I shrugged.

"Here we go. Come on then." He released me and went to hug Zach. "Oh, human beings. You are amazing! Ha! Thank you." He ended the hug and came over to me, taking my hand again. Rose laughing as he did so.

"Not at all."

"But apart from that, you're completely mad. You should pack your bags, get back in that ship and fly for your lives."

"You can talk. And how the hell did you get here?"

"Oh, I've got this er, this ship. It's hard to explain. It just sort of appears."

"We can show you, we parked down the corridor from er…Oh, what's it called? Habitation area…"

"Three."

"Three. Three."

"Do you mean storage six?"

"It was a bit of a cupboard, yeah. Storage six. But you said- you said- you said storage five to eight." The Doctor ran out, dragging me along with him.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Rose asked as she ran after us.

"**Open door 19. Close door 19.**"

"Open the door! Come on!"

"**Open door 17. Open door 15. Door 16 out of commission.**"

"It can't be. It can't be!" Seeing his distress, I grabbed his face, forcing him to look into my eyes until he calmed down.

"**Door 16 out of commission.**"

"What's wrong? What is it? Doctor, the Tardis is in there. What's happened?"

When I saw that he we calm enough, I released my grip on his face so that he could talk to Rose. "The Tardis is gone." He grabbed my waist, pulling me to him and resting his chin atop my head.

"**Door 16 out of commission.**"

"The earthquake. This section collapsed."

"But it's got to be out there somewhere." She looked through the porthole in the bulkhead door.

"Look down," he said before he led us back to the control room. Rose stood on the side as the Doctor and I went over to Zach. He hadn't released his hold on me since I'd calmed him. "The ground gave way. My Tardis must've fallen down right into the heart of the planet. But you've got robot drills heading the same way."

"We can't divert the drilling."

"But I need my ship. It's the only thing I've got besides Cerys. Literally the only things." I blushed and looked down at my shoes. I could feel Rose's gaze on me, practically seeing the smile that had come to her face.

"Doctor, we've only got the resources to drill one central shaft down to the power source, and that's it. No diversions, no distractions, no exceptions. Your machine is lost. All I can do is offer you a lift if we ever get to leave this place, and that is the end of it."

"I'll er… put you on the duty roster. We need someone in the laundry," Ida stated before she left the room as well, leaving the three of us alone with a single Ood.

**"Open door one. Close door one."**

The Doctor sighed and pulled me with him as he went over to Rose. "I've trapped you here."

"No, don't worry about us." The base trembled some more. "Okay, we're on a planet that shouldn't exist, under a black hole and no way out. Yeah, I've changed my mind. Start worrying about us," Rose chuckled before she came and hugged me.

Back in habitation three, I sat around the area staring into space, letting my mind wander wherever it pleased. I was with the Doctor as he examined the alien script and Rose had gone to get food. I tried to understand it but I could only feel my fear and the urge to run. There was something wrong with the place and it scared me more than anything. Whatever was here, it was evil and more dangerous than anyone really thought. I stifled a shiver that tried to make its way up my spine. The flickering lights did nothing to aid my terror. Sensing my discomfort, the Doctor pulled me over to where Rose was sitting, setting me down in a chair before sitting in the one beside me.

"Zach? Have we got a problem?" Ida asked through her communicator as the lights flickered on and off.

"No more than usual. Got the Scarlet System burning up. Might be worth a look."

"You might want to see this. Moment in history." She switched a lever and opened the shutters. "There. On the edge. That red cloud? That used to be the Scarlet System. Home to the Peluchi, a mighty civilisation spanning a billion years, disappearing forever... Their planets and suns consumed. Ladies and gentlemen, we have witnessed its passing."

"Er, no, could you leave it open? Just for a bit. I won't go mad, I promise," the Doctor asked as she went to close the shutters.

"How would you know?" Ida asked.

"He already is."

She smirked and walked away. "Scooti, check the lockdown. Jefferson, sign off the airlock seals for me." The two left through doors 17 and 19 while Ida used 18.

"**Open door 18.**"

"I've seen films and things, yeah. They say black holes are like gateways to another universe."

"**Close door 18.**"

"Not that one. It just eats."

"Long way from home."

"Go that way, turn right, keep going for er, about, er, five hundred years, and you'll reach the Earth."

She turned her phone on. "No signal. That's the first time we've gone out of range. Mind you, even if I could. What would I tell her? Can you build another Tardis?" She handed the phone to me. I fiddled with it as I listened to them talk.

"They were grown, not built. And with my own planet gone, we're kind of stuck."

"Well, it could be worse. This lot said they'd give us a lift."

"And then what?"

"I don't know. Find a planet, get a job, live a life- same as the rest of the universe."

"I'd have to settle down... Get a house or something. A proper house with- with doors and things. Carpets. Me, living in a house. Now that… that is terrifying."

"You'd have to get a mortgage," Rose teased in a sing song voice.

"No."

"Oh yes."

"I'm dying. That's it. I'm dying. It is all over." I chuckled at his dramatics.

"What about me? I'd have to get one, too. I don't know, could be the same one. We could all live together. We could share. Mind you, I wouldn't want to hear any banging in the night," she said, throwing a wink my way. I gaped at her, my cheeks heating up as I quickly looked down at the table. She broke out in laughter. "We'll sort something out."

The Doctor cleared his throat and I saw his arm reach up, no doubt to rub the back of his neck. "Anyway."

"We'll see."

"I promised Jackie I'd always take you back home."

"Everyone leaves home in the end."

"Not to end up stuck here."

"Yeah, but stuck with you two, that's not bad."

"Yeah?"

"Yes."

I looked down as the phone rang. Gingerly, I answered it. "He is awake." I yelped, throwing the phone and jumping up. Rose and the Doctor looked at me in alarm before he grabbed me and pulled me into his chest.

"What is it? What happened?" the Doctor asked.

"We shouldn't be here. We should have left."

"Where's your sense of adventure Cerys?"

"Rose, this is serious." I closed my eyes, calming myself. Opening them, I looked up at the pair. "We need to get to Ood habitation."

"Evening," the Doctor said as we entered Ood habitation, where Danny was stationed and typing away at a computer.

"Only us."

"The mysterious trio. How are you, then? Settling in?"

"Yeah. Sorry, straight to business, the Ood how do they communicate? I mean, with each other."

"Oh, just empaths. There's a low level telepathic field connecting them. Not that that does them much good. They're basically a herd race. Like cattle." The Ood sat on a bench under the catwalk. I watched them for any sign of movement.

"This telepathic field. Can it pick up messages?"

"Because I was having dinner, and one of the Ood said something… well, odd."

"Hmm. An odd Ood."

"And then Cerys got something else on my er, communicator thing."

"Oh, be fair. We've got whole star systems burning up around us. There's all sorts of stray transmissions. Probably nothing." He glanced down at his clipboard before returning his gaze to us. "Look, if there was something wrong, it would show. We monitor the telepathic field. It's the only way to look after them. They're so stupid, they don't even tell us when they're ill."

"Monitor the field. That's this thing?" the Doctor asked, pointing to the monitor that read Basic 5.

"Yeah. But like I said, it's low level telepathy. They only register basic five."

I watched as the numbers increased. "Well, that's not basic five. Ten… twenty. They've gone up to basic thirty." I jumped as the Ood lifted their heads.

"But they can't."

"Doctor, the Ood." The Doctor and Rose turned to the railing, looking down while I stayed near the door. I didn't want to be there. I wanted to be back in the Tardis, away from it all but that was obviously idealistic. "What does basic thirty mean?"

"Well, it means that they're shouting, screaming inside their heads."

"Or at them," I whispered.

"But where is it coming from? What is it saying? What did it say to you?"

"Something about the beast in the pit," Rose answered.

"What about your communicator? What did it say?"

I glanced up and took a breath. "He is awake."

"And you will worship him," all the Ood said, their voices eerily echoed.

"What the hell?"

The Doctor placed his hands on the railing. "He is awake."

"And you will worship him."

"Worship who?" The Ood remained silent. "Who's talking to you? Who is it?"

The base shook again, forcing us to the floor. The Doctor and Rose ran up from where the Ood sat. "**Emergency hull breach. Emergency hull breach.**"

"Which section?"

Zach then came on the comms. "Everyone, evacuate eleven to thirteen. We've got a breach. The base is open. Repeat, the base is open!"

"**Open door 19.**" We ran into habitation 3. "**Close door 19.**"

"I can't contain the oxygen field. We're going to lose it."

We ran into the corridor where we wound Jefferson and other crew members. "Come on! Keep moving!" Other crew members came from other directions. "And you too, Toby!" He ran in, falling to the ground.

"**Breach sealed. Breach sealed.**"

"Everyone alright? What happened? What was it?"

"**Oxygen levels normal.**"

"Hull breach. We were open to the elements. Another couple of minutes and we'd have been inspecting that black hole at close quarters." Rose helped Toby up as I warily eyed at him. Something was off about the man, something evil.

"That wasn't a quake. What caused it?"

"We've lost sections eleven to thirteen Everyone all right?"

"We've got everyone here except Scooti," Jefferson said. "Scooti, report. Scooti Manista? That's an order. Report."

"She's all right. I've picked up her biochip. She's in habitation three. Better go and check if she's not responding. She might be unconscious. How about that, eh? We survived."

"Habitation three. Come on. I don't often say this, but I think we could all do with a drink. Come on."

"What happened?" the Doctor asked Toby as he sat on the floor. I inched away from him, immediately knowing he was part of the problem, that something was very wrong with him.

"I don't. I don't know. I was working and then I can't remember. All- all that noise. The room was falling apart. There was no air-"

"Come on. Up you get. Come and have some protein one," Rose said helping the man up.

"Oh, you've gone native."

"Oi, don't knock it. It's nice. Protein one with just a dash of three."

When we reached habitation three, Scooti was nowhere to be found. I fidgeted with my bracelet, worried for the girl. "I've checked Habitation four. Can you hear me?" Ida said.

"There's no sign of her. The biochip says she's in the area. Have any of you seen Scooti?"

"No, no, no. I don't think so."

"Scooti, please respond. If you can hear this, please respond. Habitation six."

"Nowhere here. Zach? We've got a problem. Scooti's still missing."

"It says habitation three."

"Yeah, well, that's where I am, and I'm telling you she's not here."

I tugged at the Doctor, motioning outside where I saw Scooti floating past. I turned into him, not wanting to look at the girl. His arms wound around me and he pulled me closer, shielding me from the sight even more. "I've found her." They all looked through the open shutters to what I had already seen.

"Oh my God."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Captain. Report Officer Scootori Manista PKD, deceased. Forty three K two point one."

"She was twenty. Twenty years old."

Ida closed the shutters as Jefferson began to quote Horiatis by Thomas Babington Macaulay. "For how should man die better than facing fearful odds? For the ashes of his father and the temples of his Gods."

"It's stopped," Ida stated as the base was eerily silent.

"What was that? What was it?"

"The drill."

"We've stopped drilling. We've made it. Point Zero."

We all ran to the drilling area, most excited about the feat. I on the other had couldn't have been more worried. "All non-essential Oods to be confined," Danny said over the tannoy.

"Capsule established. All systems functioning. The mineshaft is go. Bring systems online now." The Doctor and Ida were both in bright orange spacesuits. I felt my breathing grow shallow at the sight of him, realizing he was going down.

"Reporting as a volunteer for the expeditionary force."

"Doctor, this is breaking every single protocol. We don't even know who you are."

"Yeah, but you trust me, don't you? And you can't let Ida go down there on her own. Go on. Look me in the eye. Yes you do, I can see it. Trust."

"I should be going down."

"The Captain doesn't lead the mission. He stays here, in charge."

"Not much good at it, am I?" I watched the Doctor make a face before Zach walked off. "Positions! We're going down in two. Everyone, positions! Mister Jefferson! I want maximum system enhancement."

Rose and I walked over to the Doctor. "Oxygen, nitro balance, gravity. It's been ages since I wore one of these."

"I want that spacesuit back in one piece, you got that?"

"Yes sir." As he started to put on the helmet, I grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the group. "I'll be fine, Cerys."

"You can't promise me that."

"Would you prefer I stay up here?"

"I wouldn't ask you to do that."

"You could though."

"I know." I looked away for a moment before looking into his chocolate eyes. "Just try to be safe. Nothing stupid."

"I can do safe." I gave a half-hearted smile. "I always come back." I nodded and he grabbed my chin and lifted my head up until our lips met. "Promise." I gave another nod and stepped back, putting on his helmet. We then walked back over to Rose.

"It's funny, because people back home think that space travel's going to be all whizzing about and teleports and anti-gravity… but it's not, is it? It's tough."

"I'll see you later," he told her.

"Not if we see you first." He smiled at us and Rose kissed the helmet and backed away.

"Capsule active. Counting down in ten, nine, eight, seven, six." The Doctor and Ida entered the capsule and Jefferson closed the door. "Five, four, three, two, one. Release." The capsule is lowered on its cable. I barely noticed Toby watching his hand as Rose and I watched their progress on the screen. Rose was holding onto the microphone for dear life. "You've gone beyond the oxygen field. You're on your own."

"Don't forget to breath. Breathing's good." I chuckled at her as she took in a few deep breaths.

"Rose, stay off the comm."

"No chance." We stood there for a moment watching the monitor before the area violently shook and almost knocked us to the grated floor. "Doctor? Doctor, are you all right?"

I checked the screen to see it said the capsule had reached Point Zero. "Ida, report to me. Doctor?" Zach called to them through the communicator.

"It's all right. We've made it. Getting out of the capsule now."

"What's it like down there?" Rose asked.

"It's hard to tell. Some sort of… cave. Cavern. It's massive."

"Well, this should help. Gravity globe. That's… that's… my God, that's beautiful."

"Rose, you can tell Toby we've found his civilization."

I watched as Rose turned to Toby. "Oi, Toby. Sounds like you've got plenty of work."

"Good, good, good."

"Concentrate now, people. Keep on the mission. Ida, what about the power source?"

"We're close. Energy signature indicates north, north west. Are you getting pictures up there?"

"There's too much interference. We're in your hands."

"Well, we've come this far. There's no turning back."

"Oh, did you have to? No turning back? That's almost as bad as nothing can possible go wrong, or this is going to be the best Christmas Walford's ever had."

I grabbed the microphone from Rose's hand. "Well, you're finally learning," I laughed before returning it to her.

"Yeah, well…" I laughed some more, seeing him rubbing the back of his neck.

"Are you finished?"

"Yeah. Finished.

Then Danny came over the comms. "Captain, sir. There's something happening with the Ood."

"What are they doing?"

"They're staring at me. I've told them to stop, but they won't."

"Danny, you're a big boy. I think you can take being stared at."

"But the telepathic field, sir. It's at basic one hundred. I've checked. There isn't any fault. It's definitely one hundred."

"But that's impossible."

"What's basic one hundred mean?"

"They should be dead."

"Basic one hundred's brain death."

"But they're safe. They're not actually moving?"

"No, sir."

"Keep watching them. And you, Jefferson? Keep a guard on the Ood."

"Officers at arms!" Jefferson ordered as he and the other officers retrieved their guns.

"Yes sir."

"You can't fire a gun in here. What if you hit a wall?"

"I'm firing stock fifteen. It only impacts upon organics. Keep watch. Guard them," Jefferson said as he motioned to the few Ood in the room.

"Yes sir."

"Is everything alright up there?"

Rose and I looked at each other before she handed me the mic. "Yeah, nothing we can't deal with."

"Good. We've found something. It looks like metal. Like some sort of seal. I've got a nasty feeling the word might be "trapdoor". Not a good word, "trapdoor". Never met a trapdoor I liked."

"The edge is covered with those symbols."

"Do you think it opens?"

"That's what trapdoors tend to do."

"Trapdoor doesn't do it justice. It's massive, Zach. About thirty feet in diameter."

"Any way of opening it?"

"I don't know. I can't see any mechanism."

"I suppose that's the writing. It'll tell us what to do. The letters that defy translation."

"Toby, did you get anywhere with decoding it?"

Rose turned over to Toby. "Toby, they need to know that lettering. Does it make any sort of sense?"

"I know what it says." I jerked my head up, looking at Toby, seeing his head practically between his legs.

"Then tell them," she said as she moved towards him. I quickly reached out and grabbed Rose, pulling her away from him.

"When did you work that out?"

"It doesn't matter, just tell them."

Toby turned around, his body covered in the same symbols and his eyes were a bright red. "These are the words of the Beast. And he has woken. He is the heart that beats in the darkness. He is the blood that will never cease. And now he will rise." His voice was deeper than I'd ever heard it.

Jefferson stood before us, aiming his gun at Toby. "Officer, stand down. Stand down."

"What is it? What's he done? What's happening? Rose, Cerys, what's going on?"

"Jefferson? Report. Report!"

"Officer, as Commander of Security, I order you to stand down and be confined. Immediately!" Toby spread his arms, stretching before lowering them and cracking his neck.

"He's come out in those symbols all over his face. They're all over him," Rose said into the microphone.

"Mister Jefferson. Tell me, sir. Did your wife ever forgive you?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Let me tell you a secret. She never did."

"Don't listen to him, Jefferson," I said, turning Toby's attention to me.

It seemed as if Toby were to say something but was interrupted by Jefferson, much to my relief. The way he stared at me, offered more than just the feeling of discomfort. "Officer, you stand down and be confined."

"Or what?"

"Or under the strictures of Condition Red, I am authorised to shoot you."

"But how many can you kill?" Toby's eyes glowed brighter as he opened his mouth and the symbols left him, floating to the Ood who jerked. Toby coughed and collapsed to the grated floor. Jefferson cocked his gun as the Ood faced us, their eyes glowing the same red as Toby's did.

"We are the Legion of the Beast."

"Rose? What is it, Cerys? I'm going back up."

"Report. Report! Jefferson, report. Someone, report!"

The balls in the Ood's hands lit up. "The Legion shall be many, and the Legion shall be few."

"It's the Ood."

"Sir, we have contamination in the livestock."

"Doctor, it's the Ood. They've been possessed," I said before I handed the mic to Rose and fell to the floor, clutching my head. It hurt, it hurt so much and there was nothing I could do. The more the Ood spoke, the more darkness entered my thoughts, all the anger and pain I'd ever felt. An overwhelming darkness manifested within me, one unlike any I'd ever felt. Just as I was going to give into it, I felt Rose's hand on my shoulder, calling my name.

"They won't listen to us."

"Doctor, there's something wrong with Cerys! I don't know what to do."

"Get her up and keep her safe, Rose." I felt myself being lifted and led away.

"He has woven himself in the fabric of your life since the dawn of time. Some may call him Abaddon. Some may call him Kroptor. Some may call him Satan or Lucifer."

"Captain, it's the Ood. They're out of control!"

"Or the Bringer of Despair, the Deathless Prince, the Bringer of Night. These are the words that shall set him free."

"Back up to the door!" Rose, the other officers, and myself ran to the door, with Jefferson in the rear, moving towards us with his gun at the ready.

"I shall become manifest."

"Move quickly!"

"I shall walk in might."

"To the door! Get it open!"

"My Legions shall swarm across the worlds."

The base began to shake again, more violently than before. I stumbled, barely catching myself before I fell onto my face. "We're moving! The whole thing's moving. The planet's moving."

"I am the sin and the temptation and the desire. I am the pain and the loss and the-"

"Get that door open!"

"The gravity field. It's going! We're losing orbit! We're going to fall into the black hole!"

"I have been imprisoned for eternity. But no more."

"**Door sealed.**"

"Come on!" I heard Rose cry as she kicked the door. I opened my eyes, pushing away the pain I felt. I straightened up, getting my balance. "Cerys, you alright?"

"I'll manage. Right now, we have to get out of here."

"**Door sealed.**"

"Thanks for the reminder," I snapped. "Now, this Beast, it's controlling everything around us. Rose, do me a favour and stay away from Toby. Trust me on this." She nodded. As I was about to say something else a voice came through the comms.

"The Pit is open. And I am free. Bwahahahahahaha!" Ignoring the pain that came along with it, I went to help them get the doors open.

* * *

_We are finally up to the Impossible Planet and thus towards the end of Rose :(. I know I made it seem as if everything is fine between the Doctor and Cerys but there is definitely a reason to that madness. _

_But what about the effect Cerys is having? I wonder what's causing it and why... Curious, isn't it? I can guarantee that all will be answered soon, just not too soon haha. _

_So, I was thinking of giving a sneak peek for an upcoming chapter at the end of the next one. What do you guys think? It's more of a thank you to everyone who's read and enjoyed the story since I've started it... even with the gaps between my updates, something that has been a recent thing for the past 2 months. I want to try updating everyday but I can get pretty forgetful and lazy... plus, I want to get far enough so that I'm not rushing to post a new chapter and write the next. So far, I have a good amount written but I would like to have some more done and fleshed out, which is my main problem at the moment. I've just been writing it and adding in after I've finished a few episodes. But enough of that. Thanks to everyone who reads, enjoys, and reviews the story. I appreciate it. Be sure to let me know what you think about the sneak peeks. _


	34. The Satan Pit

"Open fire!" Jefferson ordered as he and the guards began to shoot at the Ood as they approached us.

"We're stabilizing. We've got orbit."

Giving me another look over, Rose ran back to the comm. "Doctor?" There was nothing but static. "Doctor, can you hear me? Doctor, Ida, are you there?"

"**Open door 25.**"

Jefferson and the guard readied themselves only to see it was Danny. "It's me! But they're coming."

"**Close door 25.**"

"It's the Ood. They've gone mad."

"How many of them?"

"All of them! All Fifty!"

"Danny, out of the way. Out of the way!"

"But they're armed! It's the interface device. I don't know how but they're using it as a weapon."

"**Open door 25.**"

Jefferson opened the door and the leading Ood placed it's globe on a guard's forehead. She screamed and collapsed. As she fell, Jefferson started shooting at them.

**"****Seal door 24. Seal door 23."**

"Jefferson, what's happening there?"

"I've got very little ammunition, sir. How about you?"

"All I've got is a bolt gun. With er, all of one bolt. I could take out a grand total of one Ood. Fat lot of good that is."

"Given the emergency I recommend strategy nine."

"Strategy nine, agreed. Right, we need to get everyone together. Rose? What about Ida and the Doctor? Any word?"

"I can't get a reply. Just nothing. I keep trying but it's-"

"No, sorry, I'm fine. Still here," the Doctor said although his voice was covered by static.

I rushed over and snatched the mic from Rose. "Do you know how long she's been trying to contact you? You should have said something you idiot! We were worried sick about you! When you get back up here I'm going to murder you, you stupid-"

"Whoa. Careful! Anyway, it's both of us. Me and Ida." His voice was tight, almost as if he knew I meant my threat. "Hello. But the seal opened up. It's gone. All we've got left is this- chasm."

"How deep is it?"

"Can't tell. It looks like it goes down forever."

"The pit is open. That's what the voice said."

But there's nothing. I mean there's nothing coming out?"

"No, no. No sign of the Beast."

"It said Satan," Rose said.

"Come on, Rose. Keep it together."

"Is there no such thing? Doctor?" He was silent. "Doctor, tell us there's no such thing." Before he could answer, Zach came over the comm.

"Ida? I recommend that you withdraw. Immediately."

"But, we've come all this way."

"Okay, that was an order. Withdraw. When that thing opened, the whole planet's shifted. One more inch and we fall into the black hole. So this thing stops right now."

"But it's not much better up there with the Ood."

"I'm initiating strategy nine, so I need the two of you back up top immediately. No ar- Ida. Ida!"

There was silence over the comms. While I wanted nothing more than for him to come back up, I knew the Doctor well enough to not even think of asking. The man was always up for danger, always wanting to learn more and I didn't want to deny him that. At the same time, however, I knew I'd feel a lot safer with him with us. Sighing, we waited until the comms came to life. "Rose, Cerys, we're coming back."

"Best news we've heard all day," she said with a smile, only for it to fade when she saw Jefferson cock his rifle and point it at Toby. "What're you doing?"

I ignored them, bringing my attention to the comms. Something was nagging me and it made me uneasy. "Doctor… this Beast, it's not going to let you up that easily. It's baiting us- using fear against us. Right now, Jefferson has his gun pointed at Toby, not that I blame him. I have my reasons, not that I can explain them at the moment... just be a bit more aware."

"Will do, dear."

"Okay, we're in. Bring us up," Ida said.

I watched Jefferson come over to the controls and turned to see Rose hugging Toby. She caught my eyes and shrugged as I urged her to move away from him. "Ascension in three, two, one." As he hit the switch, the power died.

"This is the darkness. This is _my_ domain." The monitors showed images of the Ood. "You little things that live in the light, clinging to your feeble suns which die in the-" I grimaced, trying to ignore the pain. It hurt so much and felt as if something were trying to claw into my brain, trying to tear me apart.

"That's not the Ood. Something's talking through them."

"Only the darkness remains."

"This is Captain Zachary Cross Flane of Sanctuary Base Six, representing the Torchwood archive. You will identify yourself."

"You know my name."

"What do you want?"

"You will die here. All of you. This planet is your grave."

"It's him. It's him. It's him."

"Toby," I started, "do me a favour and zip it."

"If you are the Beast, then answer me this. Which one, hmm? Cos the universe has been busy since you've been gone. There's more religions than there are planets in the sky. The Archiphets, Orkology, Christianity, Pash-Pash, New Judaism, San Klah, Church of the Tin Vagabond. Which devil are you?" the Doctor asked.

"All of them."

"What, then you're the truth behind the myth?"

"This one knows me as I know him. The killer of his own kind."

"How did you end up on this rock?"

"The Disciples of the Light rose up against me and chained me in the pit for all eternity."

"When was this?"

"Before time?"

"What does that mean?"

"Before time."

"What does before time mean?"

"Before time and light and space and matter. Before the cataclysm. Before this universe was created."

"That's impossible. No life could have existed back then."

"Is that _your_ religion?"

"It's a belief."

"You know nothing. All of you, so small. The Captain, so scared of command. The soldier, haunted by the eyes of his wife. The scientist, still running from Daddy. The little boy who lied. The virgin. The lost girl, so far away from home. The valiant child who will die in battle so very soon. And the daughter of time who will soon take her life. Her greatest fear coming to pass." I froze, the words hitting me to the core. I couldn't understand how it would know of my greatest fear. The more I thought of it, the harder it was to breathe. It wasn't until Rose grabbed my hand did I feel some comfort… that I felt somewhat better.

"Doctor, what does that mean?"

"Don't listen, Rose, Cerys."

"What does it mean?"

"You will die and I will live." The image was replaced to a red roaring horned beast.

"What the hell was that?"

"I had that thing inside my head."

"Doctor, what did it mean?"

"What do we do? Jefferson?"

"Captain? What's the situation on strategy nine?"

"Zach, what do we do?"

"The planet the orbit, the black hole. Everything's true."

"Captain, report."

"We've lost pictures, Mister Jefferson."

"Doctor, how did it know all of-" Rose asked as I grabbed my head and grit my teeth as everyone spoke at once.

"Did anyone get an anal-"

"Jefferson."

"Shut up."

"What did it mean?"

"Please, shut up." I cried. When they all continued on, I called for the Doctor.

"Everyone, just stop."

"What do we do?"

"Report."

There was feedback through the comms and everyone finally quieted. "You want voices in the dark then listen to mine. That thing is playing on very basic fears. Darkness, childhood nightmares, all that stuff."

"But that's how the devil works."

"And a good psychologist," I said to Danny as I straightened up, still feeling the throbbing but trying to work through it.

"Yeah, but how did it know about my father?"

"Okay, but what makes his version of the truth any better than mine, hmm? Cos I'll tell you what I can see. Humans. Brilliant humans. Humans who travel all the way across space, flying in a tiny little rocket right into the orbit of a black hole, just for the sake of discovery. That's amazing! Do you hear me? Amazing, all of you. The Captain, his Officer, his elders, his juniors, his friends. All with one advantage. The Beast is alone. We are not. If we can use that to fight against him-" There was a snap, a loud bang and then nothing.

Rose and I scrambled to the comms. "Doctor, we lost the cable! Doctor, are you all right? Doctor!"

"Comms are down."

"Doctor? Doctor, can you hear me?"

"I've still got life signs, but we lost the capsule."

"Say something. Are you there?"

"There's no way out. They're stuck down there."

Rose moved over to my crouched figure and placed her arms around my shoulders, trying her best to comfort me. "But we've got to bring them back."

"They're ten miles down. We haven't got another ten miles of cable." There was banging at door 25. "Captain? Situation report."

"It's the Ood. They're cutting through the door bolts. They're breaking in."

"Yeah, it's the same on door 25."

"How long's it going to take?"

"Well, it's only a basic frame. It should take ten minutes." Another bolt was cut. "Eight."

"I've got a security frame. It might last a bit longer, but that doesn't help you."

"Right. So we need to stop them, or get out, or both."

"I'll take both, yeah? But how?"

"Look, there's a reason this Beast cut the Doctor off," I snapped, the pain finally getting to me. Along with the pain, there was the fear that I'd never see the Doctor again and that was something I truly dreaded. "He was the only one making sense. Instead of letting your fears get the best of you, use your brains. Toby, stand in the corner facing the wall."

"What? Why?"

"Because I said so! Rose, you're turn."

She nodded and faced the others. "Come on! For starters, we need some lights. There's got to be some sort of power somewhere."

"There's nothing I can do. Some Captain, stuck in here, pressing buttons."

"Shut up, Zach and believe in yourself. All you have to do is press the right buttons."

"They've gutted the generators. But the rocket's got an independent supply. If I could reroute that... Mister Jefferson? Open the bypass conduits. Override the safety."

Jefferson began to do as was said. "Opening bypass conduits, sir."

"Channelling rocket feed in three, two, one. Power." The lights came on and Rose clapped.

Rose clapped, a huge grin on her face. "There we go."

"Let there be light!"

"What about that strategy nine thing?"

"Not enough power. It needs a hundred percent," Jefferson answered.

"All right, we need a way out. Zach, Mister Jefferson, you start working on that. Toby, what about you?"

"Toby is currently in the corner."

"I'm not a soldier. I can't do anything."

Rose turned to me and we had a silent argument. I sighed, giving in, as I usually did. "No, you're the archaeologist. What do you know about the pit?"

"Well, nothing. We can't even translate the language."

"Right," Rose said, turning away from him.

"Hold on. Maybe…"

"What is it?"

"Since that thing was inside my head, it's like the letters made more sense."

"Well, get to work. Anything you can translate, just anything. As for you, Danny boy. You're in charge of the Ood. Any way of stopping them?"

"Well, I don't know."

"Then find out." Rose pulled him to the computer. "The sooner we get control of the Base, the sooner we can get the Doctor out. Get going. Shift."

I walked over to Rose, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. "You're loving this, aren't you?"

"So much," she laughed before sobering up. "How're you feeling?"

"Like crap but I can manage. Been through worse, you know."

"Yeah."

"Open junctions five, six, seven." The door sparked again as another bolt was cut. "Reroute filters sixteen to twenty four. Go."

"There's all sorts of viruses that could stop the Ood," Danny said annoyed. "Trouble is, we haven't got them on board."

"Well, that's handy, listing all the things we haven't got. We haven't got a swimming pool either. Or a Tesco's."

The screen popped up with an affirmative. "Oh my God. It says yes. I can do it. Hypothetically, if you flip the monitor, broadcast a flare, it can disrupt the telepathy. Brainstorm!"

"And the Ood?"

"It'll make them spark out."

"There we are, then. Do it!"

"Rose, that's murder," I articulated. While I was all for saving ourselves and getting the Doctor and Ida back with us, I did not want to do it in a way that was basically slaughter. The Ood were innocent in the situation. They were being manipulated and controlled.

"It's either us or them. We need the Doctor back."

"But at the cost of the Ood? It's not their fault that they're being used." Danny silently watched us, uncertain as to what he should do. "Killing them does not get the Doctor and Ida up here."

"They're trying to kill us!"

"It's not their fault, Rose. Yes, I admit, we have Ood after us but to murder them-"

"If I might interrupt, they were at basic 100. Technically they're already dead."

"See. We aren't killing them. Now, get to it, Danny."

"I'd have to transmit from the central monitor. We need to go to Ood Habitation."

"That's what we'll do then. Mister Jefferson, sir. Any way out?"

"Just about. There's a network of maintenance tunnels running underneath the base. We should be able to gain access from here."

"Ventilation shafts."

"Yeah, I appreciate the reference, but there's no ventilation. No air, in fact, at all. They were designed for machines, not life forms."

"But I can manipulate the oxygen field from here. Create discrete pockets of atmosphere," Zach said. "If I control it manually, I can follow you through the network."

"Right, so we go down, and you make the air follow us… by hand."

"You wanted me pressing buttons."

"Yeah, I asked for it. Okay, we need to get to Ood Habitation. Work out a route."

"Danny!" Rose called as the Ood almost broke through the door and Jefferson opened the grate.

"Hold on! Just conforming."

"Dan, we got to go now! Come on!"

"Yeah!" He grabbed an orange compute chip from the machine and ran over to us. "Put that in the monitor and it's a bad time to be an Ood."

"We're coming back. Have you got that? We're coming back to this room and we're getting the Doctor out."

"Okay. Danny, you go first, then Cerys, then you, Miss Tyler, then Toby. I'll go last in defensive position. Now, come on, quick as you can!"

We all got down. "God, it stinks. You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm laughing. Which way do we go?"

"Just go straight ahead. Keep going till I say so."

Jefferson shut the entrance. "This is not your best angle, Danny," I teased.

"Oi, stop it."

"I don't know, it could be worse."

"Oi!" Rose said to Toby.

"Straight on until you find junction seven point one. Keep breathing. I'm feeding you air. I've got you."

"We're at seven point one, sir," Danny informed Zach as we all panted, trying to regain our breaths.

"Okay, I've got you. I'm just aerating the next section."

"Getting kind of cramped, sir. Can't you hurry up?"

"I'm working on half power, here."

"Stop complaining."

"Mister Jefferson says stop complaining," Rose told Danny.

"I heard."

"He heard."

"But the air's getting thin."

"He's complaining now."

"I heard."

"Is that you, Danny?"

"I'm not exactly happy."

"I'm just moving the air. I've got to oxygenate the next section. Now, keep calm or it's going to feel worse."

I jumped at a loud bang. "What was that?" Danny asked.

"Mister Jefferson, what was that?"

"What's that noise?"

"Captain, what was that?"

"The junction in Habitation Five's been opened. It must be the Ood. They're in the tunnels!"

"Well, open the gate."

I've got to get the air in!"

"Just open it, sir."

"Where are they? Are they close?"

"I don't know. I can't tell. I can't see them. The computer doesn't register Ood as proper life forms."

"And whose bright idea was that?"

"Open the gate!" The gate opened and we all scurried through.

"Danny, turn left. Immediate left."

"The Ood, sir. Can't you trap them? Cut off the air?"

"Not without cutting off yours."

"Danny, turn right. Go right! Go fast, Dan. They're going to catch up."

"I'll maintain defensive position."

I turned facing the man. "You can't!"

"Cerys, that's my job. You've got your task now see to it."

"You heard what he said, now shift."

"Shut up Toby. Jefferson, it was wrong. Your wife did forgive you," I said to the man before I continued on.

"Eight point two. Open eight point two. Zach! Open eight point two!"

"I've got to aerate it."

"Open it now!"

"I'm trying."

Danny started to hit against the gate. I grabbed his hands, keeping him from assaulting the door again. "That won't open the door." He looked down, breathing heavy.

"Zach, get it open!"

"Jefferson, I've got to open eight point two by closing eight point one. You've got to get past the junction. Now move. That's an order, now move!"

"I'm going to lose oxygen, Jefferson. I can't stop for your dramatics!"

That's it! Come on," Danny cried as the gate opened.

"Danny, turn left and head for nine point two. That's the last one. Jefferson, you've got to move faster. John, move!"

"Mister Jefferson!"

"Keep going!" Toby exclaimed as he pushed Rose and me. Not liking it at all, I punched him.

"Don't touch us," I spat before following after Rose.

"You didn't have to…"

"Not now, Rosie." She quieted and we sat by the next door as Jefferson and Zach spoke.

Just as he reached it, the gate closed. "Regret to inform, sir I was a bit slow. Not so fast, these days."

"I can't open eight point one, John. Not without losing air for the others."

"And quite right, too, sir. I think I bought them a little time."

"There's nothing I can do, John. I'm sorry."

"You've done enough, sir. Made a very good captain under the circumstances. May I ask, if you can't add oxygen to this section, can you speed up the process of its removal?"

"I don't understand. What do you mean?"

"Well, if I might chose the manner of my departure, sir, lack of air seems more natural than, well, let's say death by Ood. I'd appreciate it, sir!"

"God speed, Mister Jefferson."

"Thank you, sir.

I grabbed Rose's hand squeezing it and holding in a sob of my own, just as she did the same. I hated this place. Jefferson didn't deserve to die… nor did Scooti, or anyone else. "Report Officer John Maynard Jefferson PKD deceased with honours. 43 K two point one."

"Zach, we're at the final junction, nine point two. And er, if my respects could be on record. He saved our lives."

"Noted. Opening nine point two."

As he opened it, we all scooted back as we saw the Ood crouching there. "Lower nine point two! Hurry, Zach!"

"Back! Back! Back!"

"We can't go back! The gang point's sealed off. We're stuck."

Rose and I looked up, seeing a grated floor. We pushed it open, and pulled our way up. "Come on! Up! Come on! Toby, come on! Toby, get out of there!"

"Help me! Oh, my God. Help me!" I rolled my eyes at him, knowing it was an act. The Toby we'd met when we first arrived had been dead for a long while. Ood approached from the corridor, blocking a different path.

"Come on." They helped Toby up before replacing the grate. Door 32 opened and Ood began to file in.

"It's this way."

We ran to Ood habitation and rushed up to the console. "Get it in!"

"Danny, get down."

"Transmit!"

"I'm trying, I'm trying! I'm getting at it." He furiously searched his pockets for the chip as the Ood approached us from below.

"Danny, calm down. You won't find it if you're freaking out." He did as I said and found it.

"Danny, get that thing transmitting!" He quickly inserted the chip and the reading went from basic 100 to 0. I watched as the Ood clutched their heads and writhe in pain before they collapsed, dead. "You did it! We did it!"

"Yes!" Rose and Danny hugged before she hugged Toby as well. He moved to hug me but I flinched away, glaring at the man with malice.

"Zach, we did it. The Ood are down. Now we've got to get the Doctor."

"I'm on my way."

We all returned to the drilling area, united with Zach. Rose immediately picked up the microphone. "Doctor, are you there? Doctor, Ida, can you hear me?"

"The comms are still down," Zach told her. "I can patch them through the central desk and boost the signal. Just give me a minute." Zach immediately got to work, briskly typing away.

"Doctor, are you there? Doctor, Ida, can you hear me? Are you there, Doctor?"

"He's gone," Ida said. I felt my heart clench as I stormed over to the console.

"What the hell do you mean, he's gone?"

"He fell into the pit. And I don't know how deep it is. Miles and miles and miles."

"I told him nothing stupid. I asked him to be safe," I growled, hot tears inching down my cheeks. "If that thing doesn't kill him, I will!"

Rose shot me a concerned glance. "But what do you mean, he fell?"

"I couldn't stop him. He said your name, Cerys."

"Really, and what exactly did that idiot say?"

"That he really hopes the Beast gets to him before you do, and that he loves you."

"Of course he'd say that. He knows I'm cross with him." I released the microphone as Zach took it. Rose came over and wrapped her arms around me.

"Ida? There's no way of reaching you. No cable, no backup. You're ten miles down. We can't get there."

"You should see this place, Zach. It's beautiful. Well, I wanted to discover things, and here I am."

"We've got to abandon this base. I'm declaring this mission unsafe. All we can do is make sure no one ever comes here again."

"But we'll never find out what it was."

"Well, maybe that's best."

"Yeah."

"Officer Scott…"

"It's alright. Just go. Good luck."

"And you." Zach placed the comm down. "Danny, Toby, close down the feed links. Get the retrotropes online, then get to the rocket and strap yourselves in. We're leaving."

"I'm not going."

"Rose, there's space for you, both of you."

"No, I'm going to wait for the Doctor. Just like he'd wait for us."

"I'm sorry, but he's dead."

I glared at Zach and he inched away. "Don't you say that. You don't know that man. He's cheated death more times than we could count."

"You don't know him. 'Cause he's not. I'm telling you… he's not. And even if he was, how could I leave him all on his own, all the way down there? No, I'm going to stay. Cerys?"

"Rosie, he's not dead. We both know that but if we stay, we'll die."

"You want to leave him?!"

"You know I don't but imagine how he'll feel escaping and finding out that we remained and were sucked into the black hole."

"I'm not going."

"Then I apologise for this. Danny, Toby? Make her secure." The two men grabbed her arms. They were having a hard time holding her still with her struggling.

"No, no. No! No! No! Let me go! Get off me! I'm not leaving!" Zach injected her with something and Rose soon passed out. "No."

Zach picked her up. "I have lost too many people. I am not leaving you behind. Let's get her on board." Danny nodded and grabbed my arm.

I pulled away from him. "You didn't have to do that to her!" I shrieked before I punched Zach. "She would have come!"

He rubbed his jaw for a bit, before speaking. "She wouldn't have come."

"You don't know her."

"And you do?"

"She's my sister. I think I know her well enough."

"Then I am sorry, but it had to be done."

As we walked down the corridor, I saw an Ood twitch. "We should hurry."

"Did that one just move?" Toby asked.

"It's the telepathic field. It's reasserting itself."

"Move it. Go to the rocket. Move!"

When we reached the rocket, we all strapped in, with me getting Rose settled. "Dislocating B clamp. C Clamp. Raising blu-nitro to maximum. Toby, how's the Negapact feed line?"

"Clear. Ready to go, sir. For God's sakes, get us out of here!"

I watched Toby warily, piecing everything together. As I did so, Rose started to stir. Danny noticed as well. "Captain, I think we're going to have a problem passenger."

"Keep an eye on her."

"Wait. We're not…"

"It's alright, Rose. You're safe."

"I'm not going anywhere! Get me out of this thing! Get me out!" Her eyes met mine. "How could you let them drug me? Whose side are you on?"

"She didn't even know what we were planning. Gave us an earful. Zach has a sore jaw."

"I figured one of us had to stay awake so I came willingly. I wouldn't have let that happen if I knew." She nodded, looking around the small space.

"And lift off! Whoo!"

Rose grabbed the bolt gun and aimed it at Zach. "Take me back to the planet. Take me back!"

"Rosie…"

"Or what?"

"Or I'll shoot."

"Would you, though? Would you really? Is that what your Doctor would want?" Rose slumped back into her seat and I took her hand, still watching Toby as he laughed. "Sorry, but it's too late anyway. Take a look outside. We can't turn back. This is what the Doctor would have wanted. Isn't that right?" Rose and I looked out the window, seeing Kroptor get smaller and smaller as we moved away from it.

"Care to share what's so funny," I snapped.

"Just, we made it. We escaped. We actually did it."

"Not all of us."

"We're not out of it yet. We're still the first people in history to fly _away_ from a black hole. Toby, read me the stats."

"Gravity funnel holding, sir. Always holding. Stats at fifty three. Funnel stable at sixty six point five. Hull pressure constant. Smooth as we can, sir, all the way back home. Coordinates set for planet Earth."

"It doesn't make sense. We escaped, but there's a thousand ways it could've killed us. It could've ripped out the air or, I don't know, burnt us, or anything. But it let us go. Why? Unless it wanted us to escape?"

"Great thinking, Rose. I was wondering the same thing. This was _way_ too easy and I think we're about to find out," I wondered, my eyes locked on Toby.

"Hey Rose, Cerys, do us a favour… shut up." Rose and I stared at the man, her finally understanding my suspicions. "Almost there. We'll be beyond the reach of the black hole in forty, thirty nine…"

Suddenly the rocket started to shake. I felt a smile cross my face as I realized what was happening. No one else did though, besides Toby. "What's happening? What was that?" Danny asked.

"What's he doing? What is he doing?"

"We've lost the funnel. Gravity collapse!"

"What does that mean?"

"We can't escape. We're headed straight for the black hole!"

"Not what you planned, was it?" I smugly asked as Toby's eyes snapped to me, his face covered in the symbols and his eyes red.

"It's the planet. The planet's moving. It's falling."

"I am the rage."

"It's Toby! Zach, do something."

"And the bile and the ferocity."

"Just do something!"

"I am the Prince and the Fall and the enemy. I am the sin and the fear and the darkness."

"It's him! It's him! It's him!"

"Stay where you are. The ship's not stable." Toby breathed out fire. "What is he? What the HELL is he?"

"I shall never die. The thought of me is forever. In the bleeding hearts of men, in their vanity and obsession and lust." I picked up the bolt gun. "Nothing shall ever destroy me! Nothing!"

"Do us a favour and shut up," I barked as I shot out the front screen. Rose hastily unfastened Toby's seatbelt and he was sucking into space, still roaring.

"Emergency shield!" A metal shutter sealed the hole but the rocket was still heading for the black hole. "We've still lost the gravity funnel. We can't escape the black hole."

"But we stopped him. That's what the Doctor would've done," Rose replied.

"Some victory. We're going in." The ship continued to shake as we were pulled towards the black hole.

"The planet's lost orbit. It's falling!" There was a rapid beeping before the screen fizzed and died. The ship was lit up in a red light. "The planet's gone. I'm sorry."

"Accelerate. I did my best. But hey! The first human beings to fall inside a black hole. How about that? History." I clutched Rose's hand and closed my eyes, waiting for the end.

Suddenly the shaking stopped and the lights came back on. "What happened?" She looked over to me and saw my smile. "Cerys?" I shrugged but could barely keep the smile off my face.

The ship leaned to the side. "We're turning. We're turning around. We're turning away!"

"Sorry about the hijack, Captain. This is the good ship Tardis. Now, first thing's first. Have you got a Rose and Cerys Tyler on board?"

"I'm here! It's us!" Rose exclaimed, throwing her hand in the air. "Oh, my God. Where are you?"

"I'm just towing you home. Gravity schmavity. My people practically invented black holes. Well, in fact, they did. In a couple of minutes, we'll be nice and safe. Oh, and Captain? Can we do a swap?" Zach ran his hands down his face. "Say if you give me Rose and Cerys Tyler, I'll give you Ida Scott. How about that?"

"She's alive!"

"Yes! Thank God."

"Yeah! Bit of oxygen starvation, but she should be all right. I couldn't save the Ood. I only had time for one trip. They went down with the planet." I sighed, feeling horrible about their deaths. "Ah! Entering clear space. End of the line. Mission closed."

Minutes later, we were in the Tardis. Rose ran up and hugged the Doctor. I watched him with hardened eyes. Approaching him, I gave him a good, hard smack. Rose looked bewildered but the Doctor seemed to be expecting it. He immediately brought his hand to his red cheek. "You can still slap like that? I'd prefer you punch me."

"Don't tempt me," I growled as I went to sit in my chair.

"Right. Zach? We'll be off now. Have a good trip home. And the next time you get curious about something… Oh, what's the point. You'll just go blundering in. The human race."

"But Doctor, what did you find down there? That creature, what was it?"

"I don't know. Never did decipher that writing. But that's good. Day I know everything? Might as well stop."

"What do you think it was, really?" Rose asked.

"I think… we beat it. That's good enough for me."

"It said I was going to die in battle. And what about what it said about Cerys?"

"Then it lied. Right, onwards, upwards. Ida? See you again, maybe."

"I hope so."

"And thanks, boys!"

"Hang on though, Doctor. You never really said. You three, who are you?"

"Oh, the stuff of legend," he answered as he turned off the comm. With that over, I left the console room and went to my room.

I quickly stripped down and turned on the shower. Looking down, I examined my now healed cuts. I sighed, knowing that it wasn't lying, I could feel it. Something was coming and it would destroy us. I let the water run over me, removing whatever I had picked up from this adventure. When I had finished, I wrapped myself and my hair in a towel before examining myself in the mirror. I was still me, even with what I knew and as long as I remained that way, I would be fine. I walked out of the bathroom, only to jump in surprise when I saw the Doctor sitting on the edge of my bed. He looked up at me, his eyes raking over my practically naked body. "Is there something you need?"

"Yes. No. I can come back." He stood up to leave as I removed the towel from my hair, letting it fall.

"Doctor, what did you want? Something's on your mind."

"I can come back."

"Just tell me."

"I wanted to say sorry. I didn't realize how much I'd worried you."

"Yes you did."

"Alright, I did but it was an amazing discovery."

"I'm sure. Just don't be so reckless in the future." I stopped, laughing at what I had said. "I must have forgotten who I was speaking to. Don't get yourself killed, alright."

"Promise."

"Come here."

"You're not dressed."

I gave him a sly smile before using his words against him. "Nothing you haven't seen before." He gulped and came over. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and pulled him to me, pressing my lips to his. It quickly deepened but before it could go any farther, I pulled away, leaving him breathless.

"That's not fair." I gave him a small smile and motioned to the door. "That's really not fair," he grumbled as he left the room.

Once I had dressed, I tied up my hair and went to the console room. As I entered, I heard Rose and the Doctor speaking. I didn't really want to listen to what they were talking about so I headed to the library. Sitting in my spot, I watched as the fire danced, revelling in its hypnotic performance as I thought about the only thing that had been on my mind for a while… the fact that I wasn't real. While I was doing my best to pretend it didn't affect me, that it didn't bother me, it hurt more than I wanted to admit, if I were honest. I was angry but I also felt guilty and a bit selfish. I was keeping him from his second chance but I was also giving myself a chance. I didn't want to leave him… I didn't want to be her. Yet the more I compared myself to her, I found that we were more alike than anything. We were both damaged goods. From my dreams, the Doctor helped her, he healed her. While I was nowhere near healed, I felt that I was getting there… that he was helping me as well but I was irrevocably marred and no amount of love could change that. And yet, even with the bit happiness I had, I still felt horrible. I couldn't help but think just how much he might resent me for refusing her… for practically destroying any hope he may have had of getting her back. I wasn't real. I was the ghost of the woman he loved; a mirage. I was nothing. I was just a latent personality, just as the Doctor'd said. I wiped away a tear as the thoughts consumed me. He didn't love me. He just wanted me to disappear, for her to come back. I was just an obstacle. I sighed and pulled my legs to my chest, trying to clear my thoughts.

"Mind if I join you?" I looked up to see Rose standing next to me. I nodded and she made herself comfortable. "This must be your favourite place in the Tardis."

"It is. Er, there's something I want to ask you."

"Alright."

"Hypothetically, if you found out that you were the ghost of another woman, a woman who you were before but something happened and you were in love with the man who was practically her soul mate, would you, change back to give them another chance or be selfish and remain the same and live with the thought that he would resent you until your death?"

"Where'd that come from?"

"I've been reading a few books," I lied. "One had a situation like that and I wanted to ask your opinion before I read on."

"Oh, well… I don't know. If I knew how happy they were, then I wouldn't want to stand in the way of it."

"Even if he said he loved you for you and not who you were?"

"That makes it difficult. For the most part, I think I'd want to be selfish but I'd feel guilty, you know? I'd hate for the man I love to resent me, even if he'd say he didn't. It wouldn't ease my mind. Besides, if I were the same woman, what could I lose? I'd still have him. Sure it wouldn't be _me_ but a version of me would be fine. In the end, I wouldn't lose him. Why are you really asking though?" I stared at her, my eyes welling with tears. "Cerys, what is it? What's wrong?" I shook my head. "Please tell me what's wrong."

"I lied."

"What?"

"The questions I asked, they weren't from a book."

"All right. Where were they from then?"

"You wouldn't believe me," I whispered.

"After all we've seen, Cerys, I'd believe anything."

"I'm not _me_. I'm a just a latent personality come forth."

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

"The dead woman… I'm the ghost. I don't exist," I cried out as the tears fell.

"Who told you that? You're as real as it gets."

"The Doctor…"

"He told you that?" Rose asked, an angry edge to her voice. I nodded. Without a word, she helped me stand and dragged me to the console room where we found the Doctor. He turned smiling at us before it disappeared.

"What happened?" Rose said nothing as she sat me down and stalked over to him. "Rose, what happened to Cerys?" She said nothing but all I could see was the blur of her hand and the Doctor's head turning to the side. "What the hell was that for?" he angrily exclaimed, nursing his now red cheek.

"What the hell was that for?" she asked him incredulously. "That was for the crap you said to Cerys. That was for making her cry and feel as if she was nothing! What the hell is wrong with you? She's just the ghost of another woman? She's a latent personality? How could you say that to her? I thought you cared about her?"

"I do. Rose, you don't understand. It's-"

"If you didn't want to be with her, you shouldn't have led her on. You should have said something rather than spouting that crap," she yelled, causing the man to flinch a bit.

Rose, Cerys... she is my wife."

"What?"

"Cerys and I are married."

"When the HELL did you get married?!"

"No… not this version of her. The Cerys I'm married to was… is a like me. She used a Chameleon Arch to change her biology from Time Lady to human."

"What are you talking about? We've only met a year ago."

"All those nightmares weren't nightmares at all. She was dreaming about a life she lived. It happens sometimes where the past bleeds through to the unconscious. If it hadn't I wouldn't have been able to tell her."

"But that makes no sense. We grew up together."

"That would be the perception filter. I don't know exactly where it is but it's something she's always had on her. The Chameleon Arch created the backstory and the perception filter cemented it."

"And what does a perception filter do?"

"Hers is extremely powerful if it could make you think she grew up with you. Rose, Cerys is 900 years old, only a year younger than me."

"900? Wait, this doesn't make any sense. Let's say you're telling the truth and Cerys is a Time Lady, then why wait so long to tell her? And why the hell would you say those things?"

"If I'd told her any earlier, she would have died."

"And the other bit?"

"All I said was that she was a latent personality. I was trying to convince her that the others weren't true. I do care about Cerys. I love her… and the fact that I'm admitting it should say a lot."

"Is that why you were always…"

"Yes."

"How did you know?"

"I could always tell. In Gallifrey, there's this thing called Ame Soeur."

"And what's that?" Rose asked. She was doing all the talking since I had yet to find my voice. No matter what he said, the thoughts were ever present in my mind, constantly reminding me of my inadequacy, that it was all empty words and he didn't care. After all the time I'd spent forcing myself to pretend it didn't bother me, there was nothing I could do. It drained me… brought on more nightmares and left me sleepless. I was beginning to hollow out again; beginning to revert to my old self, one step closer to initiating my plan.

"A soul mate. She's that… literally the other half of my soul. I spent years travelling alone and one day, I find her in a shop basement filled with plastic dummies."

Rose turned away from him. "Cerys… are you alright?" I stared at her, seeing her eyes widen. "No, not that look. Please, Cerys. Not again."

"What is it? What's wrong? The Doctor stood before me and kneeled, gazing into my eyes. "What's happened to her, Rose?"

"She… she's shut down. The last time she had that expression… I can't say… but it was bad."

"What happened?"

"I can't tell you. She doesn't want anyone to know. Look, I need to get her to bed."

"I'll help you."

"You've done enough," she spat and the Doctor recoiled, returning to his position at the console. Gently, she grasped my arm and pulled me up before leading me to her room and setting me on the bed. "Sleep. I'll wake you in a bit with some tea." I nodded and laid down. Sleep came quickly but the nightmares did as well.

* * *

_Hello all. So we are coming to the end of Rose. Just so you know, I am skipping Fear Her and Love and Monsters. They weren't particularly my favourite episodes and it would have taken me FOREVER to write because of that. But anyways, I appreciate everyone who reads Her Secrets so very much and reviews are welcomed. I truly love seeing them and reading what you have to say. Just going in my email and seeing that i have one is the best feeling in the world, so please, leave a review. With that said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and that Cerys was believable. Oh, and the slap Rose gives him... Yikes. Never want to get on the wrong side of a Tyler... especially Rose. She's ten times worse than the Oncoming Storm. _

_But guys, guys! What do you think of Capaldi? I am utterly in love with how he portrays the Doctor. Oh, and Clara has a boyfriend! I do have to say that at the end of Deep Breath, I practically cried when they showed Matt. It took me forever to love him as the Doctor and to throw that phone call in... it broke my heart but it was definitely like a last farewell... a chapter closing in a hopefully never-ending book. Granted I did burst out in hysterics like I did with David but there was a tear or two. Anyways, I'll leave you guys to that. _


	35. Army of Ghosts

When Rose finally woke me, I felt worse than I had in a long time. All I wanted was to sleep and never wake up again. Unfortunately, Rose had taken to watching me like a hawk so returning to sleep was out of the question. Sighing, I sat up and took the cup of tea. She silently watched me take a sip, her expression stoic. I knew she was worried about me… and I couldn't blame her. I was a ticking time bomb on the verge of exploding and the only keeping me from doing so was her. I flinched as I felt her hand on my arm. "How're you feeling?" I glanced at her, not answering. She sighed. "I asked the Doctor to take us home for a visit. Maybe seeing mum would do some good. We could go to your flat for a bit, too. Maybe get her to give him another slap." She stopped when she realised I wasn't going to answer. "Alright then. I brought some clothes over so go shower and get dressed." I stood and followed her instructions, emerging ten minutes later, fully clothed and my hair soaked. I didn't care if it went through my clothes. I didn't care about anything anymore. I just wanted the pain to end.

Reaching the console room, Rose sat me in the chair and went over to the Doctor. I saw him glance my way for a split second before returning to the conversation he was having. After the quick exchange, Rose picked up her black and red travel bag and dragged me to the Tardis door, pulled me out. I barely noticed that we were on a playground as she led me into the estate and to her house. "Mum, it's us! We're b-a-c-k!" Rose called out the moment we entered the house.

Once the door had closed we saw Jackie move from the kitchen and she wrapped her arms around us. I managed to hug her back before going over to the settee and sitting as Rose stood with her. "Oh, I don't know why you bother with that phone. Neither of you use it!"

"Shut up, come here!" They hugged again.

"Oh, I love you!"

"I love you!"

"I love you so much!" Jackie exclaimed.

Minutes later, the Doctor entered. The moment he saw the woman's arms around my neck, he tried to slink past but Jackie let go of me and attacked him. "Oh, no you don't. Come here!" She kissed him. "Oh, you lovely big fella. Oh! You're all mine." I just stared as he squirmed, looking at Rose and me for aid... mainly Rose since she was the only speaking to him… even if she wanted to murder him.

"Just- just- just put me down!" he said when he saw we weren't going to help, me in particular.

"Yes, you are." She let go of him and he practically ran to my side, glaring at the three of us. I flinched away, the proximity making me uncomfortable.

Rose handed Jackie her rucksack. "I've got loads of washing for you. And I got you this." Rose pulled out a small metal knick-knack. "It's from the market on this asteroid bazaar. It's made of, er, what's it called?"

"Bazoolium."

"Bazoolium. When it gets cold, yeah, it means it's going to rain. When it's hot, it's going to be sunny. You can use it to tell the weather."

"I've got a surprise for you and all."

"Oh, I get her bazoolium, she doesn't even say thanks," she muttered to me, frowning when she saw my expression.

"Guess who's coming to visit? You're just in time. He'll be here at ten past. Who do you think it is?"

"I don't know." Jackie looked at me expectantly but I shrugged… just barely.

"Oh go on, guess."

"No, I hate guessing. Just tell me."

"It's your granddad. Granddad Prentice. He's on his way any minute. Right, cup of tea!" She walked into the kitchen.

"She's gone mad," Rose stated.

"Tell me something new."

"Granddad Prentice, that's her dad. But he died, like, ten years ago. Oh, my God. She's lost it. Mum? What you just said about granddad..." Rose and the Doctor joined her in the kitchen while I remained on the settee.

"Any second now."

"But he passed away. His heart gave out. Do you remember that?"

"Of course I do."

"Then how can he come back?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" She glanced at her watch. "Ten past. Here he comes." A humanoid shape walked through the kitchen wall and stood next to Jackie. Almost immediately I felt a familiar presence and a chill ran down my spine. Not sparing the three a glance, I ran outside, only to see more of them littering the streets.

"They're everywhere!" The Doctor said as he came up beside me. The thing that got me was that no one was running. People were going about their days as if it were normal.

"Doctor, look out!" Rose called as I turned to see one of the shapes walk through the Doctor. He squirmed, pulling a face.

"They haven't got long. Midday shift only lasts a couple of minutes. They're about to fade."

"What do you mean, shift? Since when did ghosts have shifts? Since when did shifts have ghosts? What's going on?"

"Oh, he's not happy when I know more than him, is he?" she asked me, light-heartedly, only to stop chuckling when I didn't reply. "What's wrong, honey?" I turned away from her and walked back into the flat, returning to my spot on the settee. I barely looked up a moment later when the three of them came back inside. Rose grabbed my hand as the Doctor took a seat in the armchair, pulling me from the living room to the kitchen.

**"****On today's Ghostwatch, claims that some of the ghosts are starting to talk, and there seems to be a regular formation gathering around Westminster Bridge. It's almost like a military display,"** drifted into the kitchen as the Doctor watched the telly. Rose, Jackie, and I were in the kitchen drinking tea. The older woman intently studying me. I squirmed under her gaze, hating that her critical eyes examined me.

"So tell me, you two alright?"

"What do you mean?" Rose asked.

"I know you two have been at odds since Christmas."

"Yeah, we talked."

"Good. I don't like my girls fighting."

"Yeah, it wasn't really a fight though. More like we were too stubborn to talk to each other."

"You were both always like that. But tell me, what's wrong with Cerys? What happened?"

"It's… erm, complicated," Rose cautiously replied.

"No, it's not. I know that look and I need to know what happened to her. I can't deal with another incident. Especially if it could be prevented. Now tell me what happened, Rose!"

"Mum…"

"Now, Rose Marion Tyler."

Rose jumped but before she could reply, the Doctor spoke up from the living room. "It's all over the world." Rose and Jackie led me to the living room as the Doctor turned off the telly. "When did it start?"

"Well, first of all, Peggy heard this noise in the cellar, so she goes down-"

"No, I mean worldwide."

"Oh. That was about two months ago. Just happened. Woke up one morning, and there they all were. Ghosts, everywhere. We all ran round screaming and that. Whole planet was panicking. No sign of you, thank you very much. Then it sort of sank in. It took us time to realise that we're lucky."

"What makes you think it's granddad?" Rose asked.

"It just feels like him. There's that smell, those old cigarettes. Can't you smell it?"

"I wish I could, mum, but I can't."

"You've got to make an effort. You've got to want it, sweetheart."

"The more you want it, the stronger it gets."

"Sort of, yeah."

"So, a psychic link, then?" Rose asked.

"Exactly that. Of course you want your old dad to be alive, but you're wishing him into existence," the Doctor rationalised. "The "ghosts" are using that to pull themselves in."

"You're spoiling it."

"I'm sorry, Jackie, but there's no smell, there's no cigarettes. Just a memory."

"But if they're not ghosts, what are they then?"

"Yeah, but they're human!" Jackie said, trying to get the Doctor to see it her way. "You can see them. They look human."

"She's got a point. I mean, they're all sort of blurred, but they're definitely people."

"Maybe not. They're pressing themselves into the surface of the world. But a footprint doesn't look like a boot."

The four of us had gone to the Tardis, Jackie and I staying outside while Rose and the Doctor went to get whatever was needed. I could feel the woman's eyes on me, knowing she was extremely worried about me. I began to pull away as I felt her place a hand on my arm but I forced myself to remain still. "What is it, sweetheart? Please tell me what's the matter." As much as I wanted to break down and tell her everything, I couldn't. Instead, I stared ahead, trying my hardest to ignore her but the more she asked what was wrong, the more I could feel myself losing the small bit of sanity and control I had. Finally unable to keep my head, I stormed off, making the ten minute walk to my own flat.

I sat in the dark apartment for what felt like hours before the door opened. I made no move to see who it was but I knew it was Rose. She was the only one who would come over exactly after I'd left. She'd known me for too long to care much about the hostility I'd possibly present. Jackie didn't care much either but Rose was pretty much the only one who could get through to me. As she sat beside me and wrapped her arm around my shoulders, I didn't flinch or move. Her touch was comforting… familiar and calming.

Rose was silent for a long while, just offering her support. Yet, the longer she was quiet, the more I dreaded the moment she'd begin to speak. I knew what she'd say… that she'd want me to go back and Jackie was worried. If I were being honest, I felt horrible for putting Jackie through that again. I hated myself more than I could express but I was unable to show how much I wanted to open up and say how I felt; to tell her how much pain I was in. "Mum's really worried. Gave the Doctor quite an earful when he refused to tell her what happened. He's worried too, you know? He wanted to come along but I told him it was best if he stayed away." I gave her a small nod. "I know you're not alright and I won't ask but I need to know… why did you act like it was nothing? Like it hadn't bothered you when all the while, it was constantly gnawing at you?" I glanced at her, not sure how I was going to answer or if I was. It was a valid question, one that I hadn't expected her to ask. While I knew she was going to say something, I truly thought she'd try to get me to actually speak to the man. I watched her watch me as I thought of an answer. There were many reason why I went on as if it didn't matter; the biggest being that I was in denial… no I just wanted things to go back to normal. As much I knew it was true, I had hoped ignoring the problem would be best. Looking away from her, I shrugged. From the hole I could feel being burned into the back of my skull, I knew it wasn't the answer she wanted. "Cerys, I know I can't force you to say anything but come back with me. Mum and I don't want you being by yourself… not in this state. You won't have to say anything. You won't even have to mind the Doctor. I… I just can't leave you alone." I gave her a curt nod and let her pull me up and out the door.

Reaching the Tyler flat, Rose and I found Jackie and the Doctor still outside. The Doctor glanced up at us a quick second before returning to his task of gathering up cones. Jackie approached us and without a word, she pulled me into a hug. I gingerly returned it before the two of us followed Rose and the Doctor into the Tardis where the man was rattled off. "I said so!" The Doctor threw his jumper on the railing and ran to the console. "Those ghosts have been forced into existence from one specific point, and I can track down the source. Allons-y!" He flipped a switch causing the Tardis to jolt, almost causing us to fall to the floor. "I like that. Allons-y. I should say allons-y more often. Allons-y. Watch out, Rose Tyler. Allons-y. And then, it would be really brilliant if I met someone called Alonso, because then I could say, allons-y, Alonso, every time." He stopped rambling long enough to catch Rose's eye. "You're staring at me."

"Mum's still on board."

"If we end up on Mars, I'm going to kill you," Jackie said from her seat. I gave the woman a small smile as she folded her arms. While I knew it was possibility that it could happen, I knew the Tardis wouldn't end up there, even with the Doctor's horrible driving.

When we materialized, the Doctor checked the scanner. "Oh well there goes the advantage of surprise. Still… cuts to the chase." The alien man scratched the back of his head. "Stay in here. Look after Jackie. Cerys, you're with me." I glanced up at him, confused as to why he wanted me to exit the Tardis with him. I hadn't spoken to him in hours, or felt his touch and yet he wanted me to go out there with him. It confused me but it felt as if he wanted to spend some form of time with me… like he needed it. I sighed and turned away from the trio, caught up in my thoughts. It wasn't until Jackie placed a hand on my arm did I turn back to the conversation.

"I'm not looking after my mum," Rose said as she followed after him.

"Well, you brought her."

"I was kidnapped!"

Rose ran in front of him, blocking the door. "Doctor, they've got guns."

"And I haven't." He grabbed her arms and moved her out of the way, placing her next to Jackie. "Which makes me the better person, don't you think? They can shoot me dead, but the moral high ground is mine."

"And what about Cerys?"

"Oh, they'd get me first."

"They better," Jackie snapped.

He gently took hold of my hand and began to pull me out the door. While I did enjoy the physical contact, something he and I hadn't shared for a while, I still felt slightly uncomfortable with it as well. I couldn't help but pull away from him… something he seemed to greatly mind but said nothing about it. Instead he let me do so and raised his arms while mine were crossed, guns pointed at us… almost an exact repeat of our time with the Slitheen family. A blonde woman in a black suit ran into the room, stopping before us with a huge grin on her face. "Oh! Oh, how marvellous. Oh, very good. Superb! Happy day." She began to clap and the soldiers lowered their guns and soon joined in. The Doctor and I shot each other puzzled glances before he lowered his arms.

"Um, thanks. Nice to meet you. I'm the Doctor."

"Oh, I should say. Hurray!"

"Ah, you- you've heard of me, then?"

"Well of course we have. And I have to say, if it wasn't for you, none of us would be here. The Doctor _and_ the Tardis." There was more applause.

As uncomfortable as I was, I was also extremely curious. "And who exactly are you?" I asked, speaking for the first time in a while.

"Oh, plenty of time for that. But according to the records, you're not one for travelling alone," she said, glancing at me. "The Doctor and his companion, or companions. That's a pattern, isn't it, right? There's no point hiding anything, not from us. So where is the other one?"

"Yes. Sorry. Good point. This is Cerys Smith." I looked up at him, seeing him smirk. I rolled my eyes, _slightly_ amused. It seemed as if he was happy I'd began to speak again, even if it wasn't to him in particular. "The other one's just a bit shy, that's all." He reached in the slightly open door and pulled someone out… that someone happened to be Jackie. "But here she is, Rose Tyler. Hmm. She's not the best I've ever had. Bit too blond. Not too steady on her pins, a lot of that-" He motioned his hand, making the talking sign. "And just last week, she stared into the heart of the Time Vortex and aged fifty seven years. But she'll do."

"I'm forty!"

"Deluded. Bless. I'll have to trade her in. Do you need anyone? She's very good at tea. Well, I say "very good", I mean not bad. Well, I say "not bad"-. Anyway, lead on. Allons-y. But not too fast. Her ankle's going."

"I'll show you where my ankle's going," Jackie muttered as I chuckled a bit, earning a surprised glance from the woman. The Doctor was in for another slap if he kept on but something told me that he would have if it meant I'd laugh.

"It was only a matter of time until you found us, and at last you've made it. I'd like to welcome you, Doctor. Welcome to Torchwood." We were in a massive warehouse area that had jeeps and trucks driving around, a vast amount of crates, and a flying saucer in the left corner. Soldiers and scientists seemed to bustle about the place, each person busy with one task or another.

"That's a Jathar Sunglider."

"Came down to Earth of the Shetland Islands ten years ago."

"Did it crash?" I asked, fearing the answer.

"No, we shot it down. It violated our airspace. Then we stripped it bare. The weapon that destroyed the Sycorax on Christmas Day? That was us. Now, if you'd like to come with me." She began to lead us deeper into the room. "The Torchwood Institute has a motto- "If it's alien, it's ours." Anything that comes from the sky, we strip it down and we use it for the good of the British Empire."

"For the good of the what?" Jackie asked incredulously while I gawked at the woman. Upon first meeting her, I had been extremely put off by her demeanour but at that moment, I wanted nothing more than to be as far away from her as possible. The fact that she could so nonchalantly speak of shooting down a ship, or murdering the retreating Sycorax ship, it disgusted me.

"The British Empire."

"There isn't a British Empire."

"Not yet. Ah, excuse me. Now if you wouldn't mind." A soldier handed her a gun.

"Is that a particle gun?"

"I was going to ask the Doctor but yes, it is. Good, isn't it? Took us eight years to get it to work."

"It's the twenty first century. You can't have particle guns."

"We must defend our border against the aliens," the woman said as if the Doctor were obtuse. "Thank you… Sebastian, isn't it?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Thank you, Sebastian. I think it's very important to know everyone by name. Torchwood is a very modern organisation. People skills. That's what it's all about these days. I'm a people person."

"Have you got anyone called Alonso?"

"No, I don't think so. Is that important?"

"No, I suppose not. What's your name?"

"Yvonne. Yvonne Hartman." The Doctor nodded and picked up a black step stool with a handle on top and began to examine it. "Ah, yes. Now, we're rather fond of these. The Magnaclamp. Found in a spaceship buried at the base of Mount Snowdon. Attach this to an object and it cancels the mass. I could use it to lift two tonnes of weight with a single hand. That's an imperial ton, by the way. Torchwood refuses to go metric." The Doctor let it drop from his hand and back into the box

"I could do with that to carry the shopping."

"All these devices are for Torchwood's benefit, not the general public's."

"Watch it, you blond dimwit," I countered. She looked at me, giving me an extremely annoyed look and turned back to the Doctor. "What about the ghosts?" Her attention was back on me.

"Ah yes, the ghosts. They're er, what you might call a side effect."

"Of what?"

"All in good time, Doctor. There's an itinerary, trust me." Just then the Tardis was driven by on the back of a truck.

"Oi! Where are you taking that?" Jackie asked.

"If it's alien, it's ours."

"You'll never get inside it."

"Hmm! Et cetera." Yvonne gave smug smile and walked away, almost as if she thought she could get into the sentient machine. Turning, I saw Rose peak her head out the door and the Doctor gave her a small nod before we began to walk again.

"All those times I've been on Earth, I've never heard of you."

"But of course not. You're the enemy. You're actually named in the Torchwood Foundation Charter of 1879 as an enemy of the Crown."

"Scotland," I realized.

"1879. That was called Torchwood, that house in Scotland."

"That's right. Where you encountered Queen Victoria and the werewolf."

"I think he makes half of it up."

"Her Majesty created the Torchwood Institute with the express intention of keeping Britain great, and fighting the alien horde."

"But if I'm the enemy, does that mean that I'm a prisoner?"

"Oh yes. But we'll make you perfectly comfortable. And there is so much you can teach us. Starting with this." She scanned her badge and a steal door opened. We entered a laboratory with an enormous bronze sphere in the far center. The moment I laid eyes on the thing, I wanted to run. Sensing my discomfort, the Doctor grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. This time, I didn't pull away from him. I needed the comfort that his touch brought me. Yet, as much as I wanted it to help, it didn't. "Now, what do you make of that?"

"You must be the Doctor. Rajesh Singh. It's an honour, sir." Rajesh held out his hand for the Doctor to shake but his sole focus was on the sphere.

"Yeah."

"What is that thing?"

"We got no idea."

"But what's wrong with it?" Jackie asked.

Rajesh turned to her. "What makes you think there's something wrong with it?"

"I don't know. It just feels weird." The Doctor dropped my hand and put on his 3D specs and went up to investigate it.

"Well, the sphere has that effect on everyone. Makes you want to run and hide, like it's forbidden."

"We tried analysing it using every device imaginable. But according to our instruments, the sphere doesn't exist. It weighs nothing, it doesn't age, no heat, no radiation, and has no atomic mass."

"But I can see it."

"Fascinating, isn't it? It upsets people because it gives off… nothing. It is absent."

"Well, Doctor?"

"Cerys."

I rolled my eyes. It seemed as if he figured I was comfortable enough to actually talk again. While I wasn't, I wanted to be of some help, to at least try to seem as if I were okay during this adventure. I didn't want to cause any more trouble or worry for Jackie. "It's a Void Ship."

"And what is that?" Yvonne questioned.

"Doctor."

"Well, it's impossible for starters. I always thought it was just a theory but… it's a vessel designed to exist outside time and space… travelling through the Void." The Doctor jumped down from the step ladder, sitting on the second to last step, directly in front of Yvonne and Rajesh.

"And what's "the Void"?"

"The space between dimensions. There's all sorts of realities around us, different dimensions, billions of parallel universes all stacked up against each other. The Void is the space in between, containing absolutely nothing. Imagine that. Nothing. No light, no dark, no up, no down, no life, no time. Without end. My people called it the Void. The Eternals call it the Howling. But some people call it Hell."

"But someone built the sphere. What for? Why go there?"

"Many reasons. In there, eternity would pass you by. The Big Bang, the end of the Universe, and the start of the next; you'd exist outside creation," I answered.

"You see, we were right. There is something inside."

"Oh, yes."

"So, how do we get in there?"

"He didn't mean try to open it."

"She's right. We don't! We send that thing back into Hell. How did it get here in the first place?"

"Well, that's how it all started. The sphere came through into this world, and the ghosts followed in its wake."

"Show me." He jumped down, grabbed my hand and began to pull me to the left.

"No, Doctor." He turned and went right.

We ended up outside Yvonne's office once we'd left the lower levels. She had led us to a blank wall at the far end of the room it oversaw. "The sphere came through here. A hole in the world." The Doctor reached out and ran his hand over it. "Not active at the moment, but when we fire particle engines at that exact spot, the breech opens up."

"How did you even find it?"

"We were getting warning signs for years. A radar black spot. So we built this place, Torchwood Tower. The breech was six hundred foot above sea level. It was on the only way to reach it."

The Doctor put on his 3-D specs. "You built a skyscraper just to reach a spatial disturbance- How much money have you got?"

"Enough." Yvonne walked away and I followed a moment later, passing her as I went to Jackie's side. Glancing out the window, I was met with a breath-taking view.

Jackie went to look out the window. "Hold on a minute. We're in Canary Wharf- must be. This building, it's Canary Wharf."

"Well, that is the public name for it. But to those in the know, it's Torchwood."

"So, you find the breach, probe it, the sphere comes through six hundred feet above London, bam! It leaves a hole in the fabric of reality. And that hole, you think, oh, shall we leave it alone? Shall we back off? Shall we play it safe? Nah-"

"They thought to make it bigger," I finished off for him.

"It's a massive source of energy. If we can harness that power, we need never depend on the Middle East again. Britain will become truly independent. Look, you can see for yourself. Next Ghost Shift's in two minutes." She walked out of the office, the three of us following.

"Cancel it."

"I don't think so."

"I'm warning you, cancel it."

"Oh, exactly as the legends would have it. The Doctor, lording it over us. Assuming alien authority over the Rights of Man."

"Let me show you." He went back into her office. "Sphere comes through," he pointed the sonic at her glass wall and it cracked, "but when it made the hole, it cracked the world around it. The entire surface of this dimension splintered. And that's how the ghosts get through. That's how they get everywhere. They're bleeding through the fault lines. Walking from their world, across the Void, and into yours, with the human race hoping and wishing and helping them along. But too many ghosts, and…" he tapped the glass and it shattered, making his point extremely clear to the woman.

"Well, in that case we'll have to be more careful. Positions! Ghost Shift in one minute."

"Miss Hartman, I am asking you, please don't do it."

"We have done this a thousand times."

"Then stop at a thousand!" He growled. Sighing, I grabbed his arm and pulled him to me, grabbing his face and looking into his eyes until he calmed. It felt weird, doing that again, but I knew it helped him and that was enough for me at the moment. It was a normal action, one that showed I was fine.

"We're in control of the ghosts. The levers can open the breach, but equally they can close."

"Okay." He gently pulled away and went into her office, getting a chair. Sitting down, he pulled me so that I was on his lap. I forced myself to stare straight ahead, not wanting to make eye contact with the man. While I kept myself from doing anything, I wanted nothing more than to wrap my arms around him and plant a long overdue kiss onto his lips. The minute amounts of contact wasn't enough for me and I wanted so badly for it to be… at least for the moment.

Yvonne looked at him, confused. "Sorry?"

"Never mind. As you were."

"What, is that it?"

"No, fair enough. Said my bit. Don't mind me. Any chance of a cup of tea?"

"Ghost Shift in twenty seconds."

"Mmm, can't wait to see it."

"You can't stop us, Doctor."

"No, absolutely not. Pull up a chair, Rose. Come and watch the fireworks."

"Ghost Shift in ten seconds. Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two-"

"Stop the shift. I said stop." The wall dimmed.

"Thank you," he said standing us up but keeping a hand in mine.

"I suppose it makes sense to get as much intelligence as possible. But the programme will recommence, as soon as you've explained everything."

"I'm glad to be of help."

"And someone clear up this glass. They did warn me, Doctor. They said you like to make a mess," the woman said as she returned to her office, the three of us soon joining her. The Doctor lounged in one of her chairs, his feet resting on the desk while Jackie and I stood at the window. "So these ghosts, whatever they are, did they build the sphere?"

"Must have. Aimed it at this dimension like a cannon ball."

"Yvonne? I think you should see this. We've got a visitor. We don't know who she is, but funnily enough, she arrived at the same time as the Doctor." Yvonne turned the laptop so we could see. I grimaced when I saw Rose standing there.

"She one of yours?"

"Never seen her before in my life."

"Good. Then we can have her shot."

"Oh, all right then. It was worth a try. That's, that's Rose Tyler."

"Sorry. Hello." She waved at the screen.

"Well, if that's Rose Tyler, who's she?"

"I'm her mother."

"Oh, you travel with her mother?"

"He kidnapped me."

"Please, when Torchwood comes to write my complete history, don't tell people I travelled through time and space with her mother." I looked up, hearing a clunk.

"Charming."

"I've got a reputation to uphold."

Yvonne stood and went to the doorframe. "Excuse me? Everyone? I thought I said stop the ghost shift. Who started the programme? But I ordered you to stop! Who's doing that?" The levers began to move upright. "Right, step away from the monitors, everyone. Gareth, Addy, stop what you're doing, right now. Matt, step away from your desk. That's an order! Stop the levers! Andrew!" A scientist grabbed one of the levers. "Stop the levers!"

"What's she doing?" The Doctor went over and snapped his fingers in her face. The woman's expression remained unchanged as she continued to type away.

Yvonne ran over to a young black woman. "Addy, step away from the desk. Listen to me. Step away from the desk."

"She can't here you. They're overriding the system. We're going into Ghost Shift."

"Yvonne," I looked down at the computer. "I thought you said the next Ghost Shift was cancelled. What's going on? Yvonne?"

"She's busy right now. What's going on down there?"

"It can't be. It's active!"

"Doctor!" I looked up at him to see him zap the earpiece. The women and two men screamed before they collapsed. I ran over checking them, only to find them dead. My eyes immediately went to the earpiece, recognising it a heartbeat. Fear enveloped me, knowing what those earpieces meant and what followed. "Doctor…"

"What happened?" Yvonne questioned, seeing her collapsed colleagues. "What did you just do?"

"They're dead."

"You killed them."

"He didn't, mum." She turned and looked at me. I could tell from her expression that she truly believed that the Doctor had ended their lives. "They were already dead."

"But he killed them, Cerys!"

"Jackie, I haven't got time for this." I glared at him. "Sorry."

"He didn't. Trust me on this." She nodded and pulled me into a hug.

"What are those earpieces?"

Yvonne reached for the earpiece. "Don't."

"But they're standard comms devices. How does it control them?"

"Trust me, leave them alone," the Doctor warned.

She pulled one off the black woman, Addy. A rope of grey matter came out with it. "Urgh! Oh, God! It goes inside their brain." Yvonne dropped it, disgusted.

"What about the ghost shift?"

"Ninety percent still running. Can't you stop it?"

"They're still controlling it. They've hi-jacked the system."

"Who's_ they_?"

"It might be a remote transmitter but it's got to be close by. I can trace it. Jackie, stay here!" He looked at me and I nodded, knowing he wanted me to stay. I wasn't going to argue, mainly because I wasn't in the mood for it and it wasn't the best time.

"Keep those levers down. Keep them offline," Yvonne ordered some technicians as she and the Doctor walked out.

Hearing Rajesh over the comms, I ran over to the laptop to see what he wanted, especially since he was still calling out for Yvonne a minute or so after she'd left. "We've got a problem down here. Yvonne, can you hear me?"

"She's a bit busy. What's the sphere doing?"

"The sphere is active! The readings are going wild! It's got weight, it's got mass, an electromagnetic field. It exists! The door's sealed. Automatic quarantine. We can't get out!"

"Just relax. I know this is terrifying but you are no good letting fear control you." As I said that, I realised just how much I should be taking my own advice. That was all I've ever done… let my fear control me. As it dawned on me, Cybermen brought the Doctor and Yvonne back, both with their hands on their heads.

"Get away from the machines. Do what they say. Don't fight them!" the Doctor exclaimed, but he was too late. The Cybermen shot the scientists holding back the levers, instantly killing them. I stared at their bodies, feeling my anger rising up. They didn't deserve to die that way. I ground my teeth, trying to get a handle on my flaring temper.

"What are they?"

"We are the Cybermen. The Ghost Shift will be increased to one hundred percent." The levers moved up.

**"****Online."**

"Here come the _ghosts_."

"But these Cybermen, what've they got to do with the ghosts?"

The Doctor was about to speak but I shot him a glare, knowing he was about to get snippy with her. He quickly closed his mouth. "The Cybermen were the ghosts," I gently explained to her.

"Achieving full transfer."

"They're Cybermen. All of the ghosts are Cybermen. Millions of them, right across the world."

"They're invading the whole planet," Yvonne stated.

"No, this is their victory and it's all because you couldn't leave things alone," I snapped at the blonde. I was beyond pissed at the moment. "This only happened because you idiots just couldn't leave it alone. Instead of doing that, you figured, 'hey, let's poke it with a fucking stick'! You didn't think of the fucking consequences." I felt a hand on my shoulder but I shrugged it off, not wanting to be calmed. The last time we'd encountered the Cybermen, we'd lost Mickey. And now, it was Torchwood's fault that they were in our universe and I was ready to take down the entire building without hesitation or regrets.

"But I don't understand. The Cybermen don't have the technology to build a Void Ship. That's way beyond you. How did you create that sphere?" the Doctor asked.

"The sphere is not ours."

"What?"

"The sphere broke down the barriers between worlds. We only followed. Its origin is unknown."

"Then what's inside it?"

"Rose is down there."

"I know. We'll get her back. Promise."

"I know you will. Can't keep you two separated." I laughed a bit and looked up at the Doctor, letting him know I was fully intent on keeping my promise.

* * *

_Hey hey. So glad you've stuck with me. I don't really have much to say here. Still editing and stuff. My kitten irritated me the night I planned on updating... she peed on me :8 Haven't played with her for a few days and still going strong... barely. She keeps doing things to get my attention. Anyways, thanks for the review **NicoleR85**. He's a great Doctor. I find them all amazing in their own way and I just love that he's so abrasive. He literally doesn't care what he says. The Doctor with absolutely no filter... brilliant. But I just loved that they met Robin Hood. I was extremely excited for that episode. The fact that he fought him off with a spoon was epic but I definitely felt bad that he couldn't get it through his thick skull that Robin Hood was a real person. No matter, it was rectified in the end. And Robin got his love... good ol' Doctor. I'm so looking forward to this week's :)_

_P.S. Since I haven't been getting too many reviews, I think I'm going to wait until I have at least four total before posting the next chapter. I really want to know what you guys thought and I honestly miss speaking to some of you. So... this is what I'm going to do. _


	36. Doomsday

"What's down there? She was in that room with the sphere. What's happened to Rose?"

"I don't know." I hugged her as she began to cry, placing a hand over her mouth. "I'll find her. I brought you here, I'll get you both out, you and your daughter." As he said that, Jackie turned away from him, not believing his words. The Doctor gently placed his hands on her shoulders, making her look at him. "Jackie, look at me. Look at me. I promise you. I give you my word."

A Cyberman made his way to Yvonne. "You will talk to your central world authority and order global surrender."

"Oh, do some research. We haven't got a central world authority."

"You have now. I will speak on all global wavelengths. This broadcast is for human kind." The Doctor put on the 3D glasses, staring at the Cybermen. Whatever he saw or was inspecting, we were likely to learn once we were all relatively safe and together. All the while, the Cyberman continued to speak. The five of us, Cyberman included moved to the window, looking down at the city. I took in a sharp, shaky breath seeing the chaos below, knowing that even though people were dying, they were also fighting for their families… for their children. "I ordered surrender," the Cyberman vocalised, almost confused by the concept.

"They're not taking instructions," the Doctor said, facing the Cyberman with his arms still folded. "Don't you understand? You're on every street, you're in their homes, you've got their children! Of course they're going to fight!"

"Scans detect unknown technology active within Sphere chamber."

"Cybermen will investigate."

"Units ten six five and ten six six will investigate Sphere chamber."

"We obey."

"Units open visual link." I looked at Yvonne's laptop and saw that there was a visual.

"Visual contact established."

"Identify yourselves." I let out a strangled cry the moment I heard that voice. Not caring about the Cybermen or how I would feel, I forced myself into the Doctor's arms. They barely noticed, or if they did, they were too into the back and forth to care. He wrapped his arm around me, kissing the top of my head.

"Rose said about the Daleks," Jackie whispered. "She was terrified of them, and from what I can see, so is Cerys. What have they done to her? Is she dead?"

The Doctor turned us around to her, trying to remain as calm as possible. "Phone."

"What?"

"Phone!" Jackie handed him her mobile and he quickly dialled Rose's number. He hung up a moment later. "She's answered. She's alive. Why haven't they killed her?" I slapped him in the abdomen. "Ow."

"Well, don't complain!"

"They must need her for something." He was quiet for a moment, listening in too whatever was happening. "Genesis Ark?" I glanced up at him, confused. While the Daleks and Cybermen continued to insult each other, the Doctor put on the 3D glasses. As I was going to say something, the screen went blank. "Lost her."

"Quarantine the Sphere chamber. Start emergency upgrading. Begin with these personnel." Two Cybermen approached us and grabbed Jackie and Yvonne. Soon after, they grabbed the Doctor and me.

"No, you can't do this!" Yvonne yelled. "We surrendered! We surrendered!"

"These two. Their increased adrenaline suggests that they have vital Dalek information."

"Stop them! I don't want to go! You promised me! You gave me your word!"

"Jackie!"

"I demand you leave that woman alone! We won't help you if you hurt her. Jackie, don't fight. I'll think of something." I leaned into him, trying to force away the tears. It wasn't tears of sadness, more that of anger. The Doctor kept a constant hold on me as we sat against a window ledge, trying to comfort me the best he could.

"You are proof."

"Oh what?"

"That emotions destroy you."

"Yeah, I am," the Doctor said before there was a noise that brought my attention to where it came from. I discreetly glanced over, doing all I could not to alert the Cybermen before us. "Mind you, I quite like hope. Hope's a good emotion. And here it comes." A group of black-clad people popped into the room out of nowhere and took out the remaining Cybermen."

"Doctor? Cerys? Good to see you again." The Man removed he mask.

"Jake?"

I stared at him for a moment before giving him a grin. "How?"

"The Cybermen came through from one world to another, and so did we." The Doctor put on his 3D specs again. "Defend this room. Chrissie, monitor communications. Kill one CyberLeader and they just download into another. Move!" They ran off.

"You can't just- just- just hop from one world to another. You can't!"

"We just did… with these." He held up the large yellow medallion on a chain that hung around his neck. He threw one at me and the Doctor. while he clumsily caught it, I had no problem.

I stared down at it, examining the button and wondering what it was exactly. Obviously the Doctor was doing the same thing. "But that's impossible. You can't have this sort of technology."

"We've got our own version of Torchwood. They developed it. Do you want to come and see?" He pressed his button.

"No!" the Doctor and I yelled but it was too late.

Next thing we knew we were in a dark room with wires hanging loosely from the ceiling. "Parallel Earth, parallel Torchwood. Except we found out what the Institute was doing and the People's Republic took control."

"We've got to get back. Rose and Jackie are in danger," I cried.

"That'd be Jackie," Pete Tyler said as he walked in the room flanked by two other people in black attire and masks. "My wife in a parallel universe. And as for you, Doctor, at least this time I know who you are."

"Right, yes, fine, hooray." The Doctor ran towards him, leaving me to stand on my own. "But we've got to get back, right now."

"No, you're not in charge here. This is our world, not yours. And you're going to listen for once." We both sighed, knowing we had no choice but to listen to the man. Yet before Pete could say anything, the Doctor ran to the stark white wall and placed his ear against it. Pete and I followed him. I was more curious than anything, especially on how we had gotten to the parallel world and how the Cybermen had gotten to our world. "When you left this world, you warned us there'd be more Cybermen. So we sealed them inside the factories."

"Except people argued. Said they were living. We should help them."

"And the debate went on. But all that time, the Cybermen made plans. Infiltrated this version of Torchwood, mapped themselves onto your world, and then vanished." I nodded at Pete, content I had learned how they had gotten over.

"When was this?"

"Three years ago."

The Doctor moved away from the wall and grabbed my hand as he began to walk off. "It's taken them three years to cross the void, but we can pop to and fro in a second. Must be the sheer mass of five million Cybermen crossing all at once."

"Yeah, Mickey said you'd rattle off that sort of stuff."

"Oh, where is the Mickey boy?"

"He went ahead first. Any chance to go and find Miss Rose Tyler."

"She's your daughter. You do know that? Did Mickey explain?"

"She's not mine. She's the child of a dead man." I shrugged as I shared a look with the Doctor before we were at a window, looking down at the scene below. Unlike our world, this one was peaceful and quiet. Almost all traces of what had happened on our visit seemed to disappear completely, with Torchwood being the only thing left. "Look at it, a world of peace. They're calling this The Golden Age."

"Who's the President now?"

"A woman called Harriet Jones."

"Oof. I'd keep an eye on her."

"But it's a lie. Temperatures have risen by two degrees in the past six months. The ice caps are melting. They're saying all this is going to be flooded. That's not just global warming, is it?"

"No."

"It's the breach."

"That's what he's been saying," I said confidently. "The travel between parallel worlds is impossible."

"Then the Daleks break down the walls with a Sphere."

"Daleks?"

"Then the Cybermen travelled across, then you lot. Those discs. Every time you jump from one reality to another, you rip a hole in the universe. This planet is starting to boil! Keep going, and both worlds will fall into the Void."

"But can you stop it? The famous Doctor. You can seal the breach?"

"Leaving five million Cybermen stranded on my Earth."

"That's your problem. I'm protecting this world, and this world only."

I gawped at the man, unable to believe what I was hearing. "Our problem? Do you have any idea how stupid you sound?"

"Look here miss, your world is not my problem."

"Hmm, Pete Tyler. I knew you when you were dead." Although there was a smile on his face, I knew the Doctor was disappointed in the man. "Now here you are, fighting the fight… alone. There is a chance, back on our world, Jackie Tyler might still be alive."

"My wife died."

"Her husband died. Good match."

"There's more important things at stake. Doctor… help us."

"What, close the breach? Stop the Cybermen? Defeat the Daleks? Do you believe I can do that?"

"Yes."

The Doctor looked at me and I smiled. "Maybe that's all I need. Off we go, then." We pressed our buttons and returned to the lever room. "First of all, I need to make a phone call. If you don't mind?"

"You two, guard the door."

He rushed to Yvette's office, grabbed the phone and dialled a number. I gave an amused smile when I heard the voice on the other end. "Jackie, you're alive. Listen." She started to talk more. He rolled his eyes and tried to say something. When he couldn't get a word in, he handed me the phone.

"Mum, breathe." I looked up seeing Pete's face contort in confusion. A smirk graced my lips before I turned back to the conversation.

"Cerys?"

"Yeah. Where are you?"

"I don't know. Staircase."

"Which one? Is there a sign or something?"

"Yes! A fire extinguisher."

"That doesn't really help…"

"Oh, wait a minute. It says N3."

"Now that's it." I turned to the men. "North corner, staircase three. Mum, keep safe. We're coming for you."

"No, don't leave me."

"Mum..."

"I know. Go on. I'll be fine."

"You better."

I ended the call and put the phone down. The Doctor came over and took my hand, offering silent comfort. It had been hard for me to hang up knowing she was scared.

"Jacqueline Andrea Suzette Tyler."

"She's not my wife."

"I was at the wedding. You got her name wrong. Now then, Jakey boy, if I can open up the bonding chamber on this thing, it'll work on polycarbite."

"What's polycarbite?"

"Dalek skin," I answered before the Doctor pulled me out of the room.

As we ran down the corridor, the Doctor skidded to a stop at a corner and I crashed into him. Peeking out, I saw a Cyberman. In his hand was a piece of paper attached to a pointer. He waved it on the other side of the corner. "Sorry." We both stepped from behind the corner, me safely behind the Doctor. "No white flag. I only had a sheet of A4. Same difference."

"Do you surrender?"

The Doctor turned and glanced at me before taking my hand and walking towards the Cyberman, only stopping when they were nose to nose. "I surrender unto you. A very good idea, don't you think, Cerys?"

"Er, yeah, sure. Good idea." He smiled at me and then we took off again.

When we reached the laboratory, the Doctor soniced the door. As it opened, he put on the 3D glasses.

"Oh now, hold on, wait a minute," he said as we heard the Dalek threaten Rose's life.

"Alert, alert. You are the Doctor."

"Sensors report he is unarmed," a black Dalek said.

"That's me. Always."

"Then you are powerless."

"Not me. Never." He whipped off the specs and turned to Rose. "How are you?"

"Oh, same old, you know. Cerys?"

I moved from behind him a bit and shot her a smile. "Better."

"Good. And Mickity McMickey. Nice to see you," the Doctor said happily as he gave Mickey a knuckle pound.

"And you, boss."

"Social interaction will cease!"

"How did you survive the Time War?" another Dalek questioned.

"By fighting… on the front line. I was there at the fall of Arcadia. Someday I might even come to terms with that." I squeezed his hand. He glanced down and gave me a small smile before returning his attention back to the Daleks. "But you lot ran away!"

"We had to survive."

"The last four Daleks in existence. So what's so special about you?"

"Doctor, they've got names. I mean, Daleks don't have names, do they? But one of them said they-" she was cut off by a Dalek.

"I am Dalek Thay."

"Dalek Sec."

"Dalek Jast."

"Dalek Caan."

"So that's it! At last. The Cult of Skaro. I thought you were just a legend."

"Who are they?"

"A secret order above and beyond the Emperor himself," the Doctor said as he began to circle the small space. "Their job was to imagine, think as the enemy thinks. Even dared to have names. All to find new ways of killing."

"But that thing, they said it was yours- I mean, Time Lords. They built it. What does it do?"

"I don't know. Never seen it before." I looked away from it, recognition dawning on me. The reason why Rassilon had _her_ taken, why he had sent Kiere to fight, what he wanted to achieve. I clenched my fist, trying to keep myself together. Yet the more I did that, the more I felt myself falling apart. It seemed that everything always led back to her and that in the end, I was the one who would die… that I was _always_ meant to disappear.

"But it's… Time Lord."

"Both sides had secrets," he said to Rose. "What is it? What have you done?"

"Time Lord science will restore Dalek supremacy."

"What does that mean? What sort of Time Lord science? What do you mean?"

"They said one touch from a time traveller will wake it up."

"Technology using the one thing a Dalek can't do. Touch." The Doctor moved so that he was 'eye to eye' with the Dalek. "Sealed inside your casing. Not feeling anything ever, from birth to death, locked inside a cold metal cage," he taunted, "completely alone. That explains your voice. No wonder you scream."

"The Doctor will open the Ark!"

"I'll kill him if he even considers it," I snapped, stepping from behind him.

I felt his hand tighten around mine as he tried to pull me from my spot beside him. I resisted, not wanting to be the person who always needed to be protected. I was finished with being that person. "What are you doing?"

"Shut up."

"You have no way of resisting."

I opened his jacket and reached into his pocket, pulling out the sonic. "We have this."

"A sonic probe?"

"That's screwdriver," the Doctor corrected.

"It is harmless."

"Yeah, because that's what he likes. It doesn't kill, maim, or wound but it is amazing at opening doors." I pressed the button and not a moment later, the doors blew open, with Jake and a Cyberman entering. Both were shooting at the Daleks.

"Delete! Delete! Delete! Delete!"

"Alert. Casing impaired. Casing impaired."

"Rose, go!" I yelled. She ran for the door, stumbling and falling to the floor.

"Fire power insufficient! Fire power insufficient!"

"Come on," Pete said as he helped her up.

"Daleks will be deleted. Delete. Delete."

"Mickey, come on!"

"Adapt to weaponry."

"Fire power restored!" The black Dalek fired at a Cyberman and killed it, knocking Mickey back. He threw out a hand, steadying himself, touching the Ark. I watched it all, feeling as if I weren't really there. The only thing that reminded me I was present was the tug I felt coming from the Doctor as he tried to get me to run. Recovering from my out of body experience, I joined him, running towards an emergency blast door.

"Jake, protect the stairwell! The rest of you, come on!" the Doctor ordered as he soniced the door shut.

"I just fell. I didn't mean it!" Mickey said as we ran through the first corridor.

"Mickey, without us, they'd have opened it by force. To do that, they'd have blown up the sun. You've done us a favour." The Doctor grabbed his head and kissed the top of it. "Now, run!" We ran some more until we reached a different corridor. As the others ran past a door, I thought of Jackie and pulled the Doctor through it. The others soon followed. I smiled when I noticed the lettering on the wall, N1.

As we ran through the corridor, we saw a group of Cybermen and heard a scream. The moment we reached, Pete took the lead and shot them, killing the Cybermen and saving Jackie. I couldn't help but smile at the action. When they were gone, Rose and I ran up to Jackie and hugged her, almost knocking her off her feet. When we let go, I watched as her eyes found Pete. She blinked, not believing her eyes. "Pete?" Rose and I took each other's hands, not sure as to how our mother would react.

"Hello, Jacks."

"I said there were ghosts, but that's not fair. Why him?"

"I'm not a ghost."

"But you're dead. You died twenty years ago, Pete."

"It's Pete from a different universe. There are parallel worlds, Jackie. Every single decision we make creates a parallel existence, a different dimension where-"

"Oh, you can shut up," she said to the Doctor, causing both Rose and me to laugh at him as he held up a finger and took a step back. "Oh, you look old."

"You don't."

"How can you be standing there?"

"I just got lucky. Lived my life. You were left on your own. You didn't marry again, or…"

"There was never anyone else. Twenty years, though. Look at me. I never left that flat," Rose and I glanced at each other, a smile on our lips. We both knew just how much Jackie loved Pete, even with all his daft ideas and the lack of income. "Did nothing with myself."

"You brought her up. Rose Tyler. That's not bad."

"Yeah. Cerys too, you know."

"In my world, it worked. All those daft little plans of mine, they worked. Made me rich."

"I don't care about that. How rich?"

"Very."

"I don't care about that. How very?" I chuckled, gently nudging Rose as I saw her roll her eyes.

Pete chuckled. "Thing is though, Jacks, you're… you're not my wife. I'm sorry, but you're not. I mean, we both… You know, it's just sort of… Oh, come here." He tossed the gun aside and opened his arms, running to her. She ran into them, the two embracing each other.

After the lovely reunion, we ran for the warehouse. As the Doctor and I opened the door, Daleks came through the door. The two groups, Daleks and Cybermen, were already in a firefight not only between each other but Torchwood personnel as well. As they fought, the Doctor "fell" through the door. I grit my teeth as I watched him make his way to the crate holding the magnaclamps. Once he had them, he ran towards the door, only to fall again. Rolling my eyes, I pushed through the door and grabbed his collar and pulled him through the door.

"Come on, please," Rose called to the Doctor but he pulled away from me and went to look through the door again, the 3D glasses back on.

"What're they doing? Why do they need to get outside?"

"We don't have time for this." I turned to see the Dalek elevate, going through the open roof.

"Time Lord science. What Time Lord science? What is it?"

I grumbled and pulled him back through the door. "Doctor, we have more important things to worry about at the moment… like figuring out what the Daleks are doing."

He glanced at me and nodded and he returned his attention to the others. "Cerys' right. We've got to see what it's doing. We've got to go back up!" He then took off running, the magnaclamps still in his hands. "Come on, all of you, top floor."

"That's forty five floors up!" Jackie exclaimed. "Believe me, I've done them all."

Jake smiled and popped his head out of the just opened lift. "Or we could always take the lift."

When we were back in Yvonne's office the Doctor placed the clamps on Yvonne's desk and we all went to the window, watching the Ark as it shot out Daleks in all directions. "Time Lord science… It's bigger on the inside. Cerys?" I glanced up at him. "You alright?" I nodded and looked away. I almost felt guilty for lying to him but I was in no state to start spilling all my insecurities to the man who'd been the main cause of them. I felt his gaze on me for a while longer before it left.

"Did the Time Lord put those Daleks in there?" Mickey asked. "What for?"

"It's a prison ship."

"How many Daleks?"

"Millions." I gripped his hand, offering what comfort I could. I'd seen Daleks in action on more than one account and although they frightened me, I knew they affected the Doctor more than anything. While I didn't understand on an emotional level, I wanted to offer him that support. I wanted him to know that I was there for him and that I would be there for him no matter what happened.

"I'm sorry, but you've had it. This world's going to crash and burn. There's nothing we can do. We're going home," Pete said as he took a yellow medallion from one of the people in black. "Jacks, take this. You're coming with us."

"But they're destroying the city."

"I'd forgotten you could argue," he said as he placed the chain around her neck. "It's not just London, it's the whole world. But there's another world just waiting for you, Jacks. And it's safe as long as the Doctor closes the breach. Doctor?"

The Doctor and I turned facing them. He was in the 3D specs again and had a big grin on his face. "Oh, I'm ready. I've got the equipment right here. Thank you, Torchwood." He went over to a computer terminal. "Slam it down and close off both universes."

"**Reboot systems.**"

"But we can't just leave. What about the Daleks? And the Cybermen?"

"They're part of the problem, and that makes them part of the solution. Oh yes!" Rose and I chuckled. "Well? Isn't anyone going to ask what is it with the glasses?"

I smirked. "What's with the specs?"

"I can see, that's what. Because we've got two separate worlds, but in between the two separate worlds, we've got the Void. That's where the Daleks were hiding. And the Cybermen travelled through the Void to get here. And you lot, one world to another, via the Void. Oh, I like that- "Via the Void." Look." He took them off and placed them on Rose. "I've been through it. Do you see?"

"**Reboot in three minutes.**"

"What is it?" She reached out for a moment before removing them and handing them to me. Putting it on, I saw little particles floating around the Doctor and Rose.

"Void stuff."

"Like, er, background radiation?"

"That's it. Look at the others." He turned and faced me towards everyone else. "And the only one who hasn't been through the Void- your mother. First time she's looked normal all in her life." I smiled and handed the glasses back to Rose who put them on.

"Oi."

"But the Daleks lived inside the Void." The Doctor ran to the wall with Rose and I following close behind. "They're bristling with it. Cybermen, all of them. I just open the Void and reverse. The Void stuff gets sucked back inside."

"Pulling 'em all in!"

"Pulling 'em all in!"

"Sorry, what's- what's the Void?" Mickey asked.

"Dead space between worlds."

"So you're sending the Daleks and Cybermen to Hell. Man, I told you he was good."

"But it's like you said. We've all got Void stuff," Rose said. "Me too, because we went to that parallel world. We're all contaminated. We'll get pulled in."

"That's why you've got to go."

"**Reboot in two minutes.**"

"Back to Pete's world. Hey, we should call it that- Pete's World. I'm opening the Void, but only on this side. You'll be safe on that side."

"And then you close it… for good?"

"The breach itself is soaked in Void stuff. In the end it'll close itself. And that's it. Kaput."

"But you stay on this side?"

"Well, you'll get pulled in."

"That's why we've got these," he said, holding up the magnaclamps. "We'll just have to hold on tight. I've been doing it all my life."

"We?" I asked confused. "What if I wanted to go with my family?"

He shot me a quick glance before looking away. "I'm too selfish," was the only reply I received.

"I'm supposed to go while Cerys stays with you."

"Yeah."

"To another world, and then it gets sealed off."

"Yeah." The Doctor didn't even look at her as he made his way around the computers.

I reached for her hand but she pulled away. "Rosie…" I tried again and pulled her into a hug. I didn't want to lose her or Jackie. If anything, I wanted to go with them but even I knew I'd be miserable away from the Doctor and I knew she was aware of that as well. Either way, she was lucky enough to have people who loved her so much, that she had a real family, something I lacked and envied.

"Forever." She shook her head. "That's not going to happen."

The building shook. "We haven't got time to argue. The plan works. We're going. You too. All of us."

"No, I'm not leaving her."

"I'm not going without them."

"Oh my God. We're going!"

"I've had twenty years without you, so button it. I'm not leaving them!"

"You've got to."

"Well, that's tough."

"Mum."

**"****Reboot in one minute."**

"I've had a life with you for nineteen years, but then I met the Doctor, and all the things I've seen him do for me, for you, for all of us... For the whole… stupid planet and every planet out there. He does it alone, mum. But not anymore, because now he's got Cerys and he's got me." The Doctor and I shared a look before he snuck up behind her and placed the medallion around her neck. As the Doctor moved his hand, Pete hit the button. "What're you-" They disappeared, only for Rose to come back. "I think this is the on switch."

"What the hell are you thinking, Rosie?! Once it collapses it's over. You won't see her again… you will _never_ see mum again. How could you be so stupid? How selfish could you be? Why are you so willing to leave people who obviously love you, your mother most? I wish I had that and you're throwing it away!"

She stared at me for a moment before giving me a small smile and hugging me. "We made a promise, Cerys and I'm not breaking it." She pulled away. "Friends till the end. So, what can I do to help?"

**"****System rebooted. Open access."**

I glared at her and looked away, not wanting to speak to her. "Those coordinates over there, set them all at six. And hurry up!" the Doctor ordered. He came over and placed a hand on my shoulder but I jerked away. "Cerys…" He tried again and I let him pull me into his chest. I stayed there for a while before pulling away and getting to work.

"We've got Cybermen on the way up," Rose called.

The Doctor and I ran over to her and looked at the monitor. "How many floors down?"

"Just one."

Walking away from us, the Doctor typed away on a computer. "**Levers operational.**" The Doctor and I smiled.

"That's more like it. Bit of a smile. The old team."

The Doctor started to speak but I stopped him. "I wish it wasn't. I want you safe, Rosie and this… this right here isn't safe."

"I'll be fine." I rolled my eyes and handed her a magnaclamp. We went and put them on the walls by the levers. "Press the red button." She nodded.

"When it starts, just hold on tight. Shouldn't be too bad for us but the Daleks and the Cybermen are steeped in Void stuff. Are you ready?" I made a move to go to Rose but the Doctor grabbed me, pulling me to him. The look in his eyes told me everything I needed to know. Sighing, I nodded and he kissed the top of my head. "Let's do it!" Rose, the Doctor, and I pushed the levers and quickly grabbed onto the magnaclamps. The Doctor snaked his free arm around my waist, pulling me to him, holding on to me as much as he could.

"**Online.**" A bright light came out of the breach and a strong wind rushed into the room. It sucked in the first Daleks through the windows.

"Emergency!"

"The breach is open! Into the Void! Ha!" As he said that, there was a steady stream of Cybermen and Daleks flying past us.

"**Offline.**" The suction that had been pulling the Cybermen and Daleks in started to fade as the lever mechanism sparked. I watched as Rose released her grip on the magnaclamp to reach the lever. As she did that, I realized them being pulled the wrong way.

"Rose!"

"I've got to get it upright!" she cried as she reached it and got it upright.

"**Online and locked.**"

"Rosie! Hold on! Please hold on!" I screamed as the suction built up. Our eyes met as she was pulled towards the Void, as her grip wavered. The Doctor tightened his grip on me as I reached out for her. When her grip slipped from the lever, I let out an ear shattering scream. As she fell into the Void, Pete popped in, caught her, and with one final look, they vanished. The wind soon died and the Void closed shortly after. Once the Doctor had released me, I ran to the wall, banging on it, tears streaming from my eyes. "Rosie! Rose! Please, I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said. Please, I need you here. Please." I felt the Doctor place a hand on my shoulder but I shrugged him off. He tried again and I whirled around, pushing him away from me. "Don't touch me! This is all your fault! If you hadn't brought us to Scotland… If we never met you… she'd be here. Rose'd still be here!" I yelled as I sunk to the floor sobbing. He stood in front of me, dropping down to his knees before he tentatively embraced me. I didn't push him away, I physically couldn't. He let me cry there for what seemed like hours before he lifted me up and carried me to the Tardis. He sat me on the jump seat and went to the console. When he had finished piloting, he helped me up, keeping a hand around my waist for support.

"Where are you?"

"Inside the Tardis. There's one tiny little gap in the Universe left, just about to close, and it takes a lot of power to send this projection. I'm in orbit around a super nova. I'm burning up a sun for her."

"You love her."

"Yes."

"You should tell her."

"I know."

"You look like a ghost."

"Hold on."

"Cerys?"

I looked up, seeing her. "Rosie."

"Can I?" Rose asked, reaching out to me as I did the same.

"We're still just an image. No touch," the Doctor replied.

"Can't you come through properly?"

"The whole thing would fracture. Two universes would collide."

"So?"

"Where are we? Where did the gap come out?"

"We're in Norway."

"Norway. Right."

"About fifty miles out of Burgen. It's called 'Dårlig Ulv Stranden'."

"Dalek?"

"Dårlig. It's Norwegian for bad. This translates as Bad Wolf Bay. How long have we got?"

"Two minutes. Talk to Cerys. Don't waste it on me." He steadied me and walked over to the console, giving us some privacy while still keeping a watchful eye on me.

"I can't think of what to say!"

"I'm sorry Rosie. If I hadn't…"

"This is not your fault. You've got him. You'll get on without me."

"I can't. I _need_ my sister. You were the only reason I hadn't..."

"Cerys, promise me you won't."

"I-I-I can't."

"Please. He needs you."

"What are you doing there?"

"Don't change the subject."

"I can't make that promise. I'm sorry."

"Put the Doctor on."

"No. Time's up. I love you Rosie."

"Cerys! Cerys!" The connection ended and I dropped to the floor crying. The Doctor came over, picking me up and brought me to my room. When he set me down, he kissed the top of my head and left the room, leaving me to my own devices.

* * *

_OH MY GOODNESS WE HAVE JUST LOST ROSE! It has been on HELL of a ride. We've seen the ups and downs, the second thoughts, the hardships, the arguments and so much more since the beginning of the story. I am going to miss the pair together so much but we all know Rose comes back. For WHO, has changed. So I'm so excited to start posting Martha though, since that's when things begin to fall into place and things are beginning to be revealed... and some secrets brought to life. _

_On a great note, I've bonded some more with my History Prof. over DW. It was great (previous bonding done when we had to talk about where were born and both of us are British), but I digress. Now for the reviews, I am so glad that I received them. It sucked that I had to take such a measure to get them but as I've probably said in the previous chapter, I've gotten so used to them and conversing with some people. So thanks so much for that. Now, onto the replies. _

_**NicoleR85:** Yes! It was hilarious, especially at the end when he confessed that he had cheated during the archery contest. I seriously just want to get to when Danny joins them. I think he'll make a great addition to the Tardis gang. I'm also loving their relationship. The Doctor and Clara are literally like best friends and again, I love his demeanour. Thanks so much. I will admit that Cerys' continued travel with the Doctor will end though, unfortunately :(_

_**kcaBsretteLeerT:** So glad to know you're enjoying the chapter and that you feel that way about the story. It truly warms my heart. _

_**geogirl2014:** Oh, considering their relationship, that's definitely a given lol._

_**I'm-a-Klaus-addict:** Long time no talk. Sorry to hear about your computer and phone. But I totally understand : Definitely missed the talks haha. Well, as cliche as it sounds, the end is the beginning :}_

_**Guest:** I totally held the chapter hostage... although I hit the quota a few days back, school has been hell and as an English major, I have a lot of writing intensive classes, but I digress. As for your questions, all will be answered in the next chapter actually so you won't have to wait too long. But I'm glad that you're enjoying the story :)_


	37. All Is Revealed

_**Hey all. So just a heads up, this chapter deals with some dark things. It contains SI and suicide. I'm sorry if it triggers or offends you, but hey, I have just warned you. Hope you enjoy the chapter otherwise.**_

_**-Marvel'sWhovian**_

* * *

I laid on the bed for a while, soaking the sheets with my tears. Rose's face etched in my mind, as were her desperate attempts to keep me from doing what I had been planning for longer than anyone had known. As I laid there, curled into myself I heard the door open and felt the Doctor stroking my hair. It was a welcomed gesture, one that I gratefully leant into. As he hesitantly pulled away, I was told something had come up and needed to be fixed and with a kiss on my head, he left me to my own devices..

When I was certain he was gone, I stumbled out of the bed. Falling to my knees, I dug between the mattress and box. Finding exactly what I needed, I removed the razor blade and the second bottle of pills. As I did so, I heard the angry buzz of the Tardis. While I wasn't sure if she'd tell the Doctor what I was up to, I barely cared. Ignoring her, I downed the entire bottle, I stripped down and went to the bathroom, running the water for a bath.

Once it was a quarter full, I sunk into the water and reached for my salvation. I quickly dug the blade into my skin and forced it up my arm until it reached the crevice of my elbow. Ignoring the slight pain, I did the same for the other side, although that side came out off-centred, it was good enough to do what I wanted. Satisfied, I dropped the blade and lowered my arms into the water. Closing my eyes, I waited for it all to end. In doing so, my thoughts drifted to the Doctor. I loved that man more than words could describe and while I knew he'd be devastated, I couldn't help but feel he would be better off without me. All I ever seemed to do was bring up the past. I was unable to let go of anything that had happened to me, and I had thus become a snivelling child intent on seeing the worst in everything. I was nothing but a headache and he deserved someone stable, someone strong. I was neither.

I don't know how long I sat in the bath for but the next thing I knew, I was being pulled out. My eyes fluttered open to see the Doctor hugging me to him, his eyes closed as tears rushing down his face as he rocked back and forth. I lifted my arm to his face, gasping when I saw my wounds were gone, not even a scar to remind me of them. His eyes snapped open and all I could see was pain and rage. I flinched away, not knowing what to expect… and for not expecting to see him so broken. Instead of saying anything, he stood, bringing me up with him, and stood back. I looked at him puzzled before I looked down at my hands to see them glowing gold. I gawped, feeling an odd tingle rush through my body before glancing back at him. I was met with a hardened expression as the prickle was replaced with pain. Unable to hold it in, I let out a scream as the gold enveloped me.

The first thing I noticed when I dropped to the floor was my hair. It was purple, lilac, with darker shades littered about. It was a bit shorter than the length it previously was and straight. A small smile tugged at my lips but I hid it. Looking up, I saw the Doctor gazing at me. As I went to stand, a sharp pain racked through my body. I hunched over, coughing up gold dust. It continued for ten minutes, the Doctor watching me for the entirety. He was angry; I could feel it radiating off of him. Suddenly the world started to spin and the next thing I knew, it was dark.

My eyes fluttered open, taking in my surroundings. I was in my room, my bed and there was someone lying next to me. Turning over, I gave a small smile at his form. As I reached to caress his face, his hand grabbed mine and he sat up, scowling at me. "You're angry."

He stood and crossed the room, leaning against the wall. For a moment, he reminded me of his previous incarnation. "More furious than anything."

"I'm not sorry, if that's what you're expecting me to say."

"What the hell were you thinking?! Why did you do it?"

I shrugged, keeping myself from looking at him. "I felt like it."

"You can't lie to me, Cerys. How long were you planning it?"

"If you really want to know, I'd been planning for a while. Since our first real adventure. Rose was the only reason why I hadn't and since she was gone, I figured what the hell. I'm not really needed around here anyways."

"How could you be so thick? I just found you and you were going to rip it away from me."

"The only reason you wanted me around was because I'm your dead lover! That was all you basically cared about," I snapped. I knew that wasn't true but the fact that I had grown so attached to being human. Those feelings transferred over… as did the hurt and pain. While I knew I was no longer human, I couldn't help but get those thoughts out. He needed to know how I felt during those years with him, how much agony I'd been through.

"How dense are you, Cerys? Do you honestly believe that?"

"What's the point of lying, Doctor? You've got her… me back. Congratulations."

"You're being irrational."

"You think I don't know that!" I screeched, stunning and ultimately silencing the Time Lord. "All that time travelling with you, all you did was shower her with love and then turn around and do something completely idiotic. You never once thought of the repercussions of your actions or your words. Hell, I know she was no picnic and she was complicated and emotional and a complete and utter wreck… but she cared about you so much… she loved you and on more than one occasion, you tore her heart to shreds. No, she never was truly happy, but she was getting there, she was healing and you had to open your mouth. Did you even mean what you said?"

"Of course I did. Could you not see that she was _literally_ your first incarnation? I was very much aware of the situation."

I glared at him for a moment before sighing. What had been said and done had passed and my thoughts had been vocalised. There was nothing else I could do or say that would change the past. While I was angry at him, I was also angry with myself. As I human, I was practically an exact replica of my first incarnation, emotionally and mentally and just like then, it took the Doctor to help me feel okay, even if it was Rose who kept me from ending things, from ultimately changing back. "This wasn't the first success," I muttered as I stared at my fidgeting hands.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"How?"

"Failsafe. It works differently with me."

"How many times?" he clarified.

"Two…including this. This is my ninth body."

"The first six?"

"Three during the war and three at the hands of the High Council."

"What did they do to you?"

"It doesn't matter." He glared at me, his expression telling me that it did matter, at least to him. "I regenerated and got my memories back. I'm fine," I snapped, moving to stand only to fall on my face. "Okay, still extremely weak." I stopped doing a quick assessment. "No, that's not it. I shouldn't be up. I did too much damage." I struggled to get onto the bed.

The Doctor came to my side, helping me back into the bed. "What else did you do?"

"Cocktail. Some might have contained aspirin. I'm... not sure. Look, I'm not sorry for what I did but I am sorry for hurting you. Just don't hate me... please. I couldn't bear to have you do so."

"I couldn't."

"Good. I'll see you when I wake," I smiled softly before I drifted to sleep.

Coming to, I had no idea how long I had been in the healing coma. But when I finally awoke, I felt the best I had in centuries. After determining it had been a mere three hours, I swung my legs over the bed frame and sat there for a minute before I stood, happy that I didn't fall. I quickly ran to the bathroom, eager to see what I looked like and I adored what I saw. Reflected was a woman, thank goodness, with lilac hair, hazel eyes, an olive complexion with freckles scattered across my cheeks and nose. Happy with what I saw, I took in other observations. I was 5'4" with a bit of an hourglass figure, D cup, with a lean body. I giggled with childish glee as I discovered I had three beauty marks, one on my stomach, right leg, and right under my lips, on the left. I quickly ran a hand through my hair and turned on the shower. I went through that motion and threw on sweatpants and a hoodie afterwards, before I ran for the Tardis wardrobe.

Although I loved the clothes I had previously enjoyed, some of it wasn't what I wanted for this incarnation. After twelve changes, I decided on black leather pants, a fitted lace blue top and the Doctor's old black leather jacket. When I had finished, I returned to my room and grabbed my military boots, completing the outfit. Finally done and content with my new look, I went to the console room, only to find the Doctor there with a young woman of colour. I sighed and cleared my throat, making the two aware of my presence. "Uh, who is she, Doctor?"

* * *

_Hey, hey! So, how was the chapter? I definitely had to have Cerys break down after losing Rose. I mean, considering how close they were, it had to be. Luckily there was that failsafe, huh. Sadly, Cerys is now dead. But now, onto last chapter's reviews, which I was so glad to see. Honestly, I love hearing your thoughts and thanks so much for leaving them. Oh, and due to laziness, I'll be leaving this as one whole book, it's also that the website is being weird and not letting me create a new story. So yeah, this will be one book until I can make a new one or something. _

_**I'm-a-Klaus-addict**: Of course we'll see Rose again. She'll definitely be popping up, although not physically but in spirit... at least until the next series. I can definitely hint that things might be a bit rocky between the two women for a while, especially with the Doctor making such an impression on her in Smith and Jones, haha. But I am so in love with Capaldi. It took me forever to like Matt but Peter was so instantaneous that it shocked me a bit. **Listen** scared the ink off my tattoos, lolz. But then in the end it all made sense and the fact that they brought it back to just the Doctor's fear was brilliant! My cat does that same thing, considering I lock her out during the episode since she often tends to misbehave at some points. But it is creepy, especially during a horror flick. _

_**NicoleR85:** Glad you enjoyed it. Hopefully you got the whole Cerys not going with the Doctor thing. She just had to die *cue evil laughter*. Hopefully your questions have been answered in this chapter as to whether she stays or not. _

_**Guest:** Thanks for the review. Sorry it was a bit confusing. Would you mind telling me what was confusion so that I can check back and make some changes and make it so the upcoming chapters aren't. _

_**Irrelevant86:** So glad I was able to give you what you were waiting for. That was one of the reasons I sent Cerys along with him, actually. I always felt that a companion should go with him in those situations and since I basically set it up where Cerys could keep him out of trouble, she went along. Something that slightly put them in a bit more trouble. _

_**Guest:** Well, happy birthday. Hope your day went well. _


	38. The Shakespearean Code

"Martha Jones," she said, holding out her hand for me to shake.

I took it and turned to the Doctor. "Oh, I was hoping it'd be you and me for a while."

"She saved my life."

I turned to the girl, flashing a smile. "Thank you for keeping this idiot safe. I really appreciate it."

"Not a problem. He saved me too, and a hospital full of people."

"Well then, welcome aboard the Tardis. I'm Rys."

"Nice to meet you."

I glanced at the Doctor, watching as his eyes scaled my body, taking in my appearance. "What are you wearing?"

"Lace top, leather everything else."

"I can see."

"You like?"

His cheeks turned red as his eyes met mine and quickly looked away. "I promised Martha here a trip so we should be off." I let out a laugh before wincing a bit. He rushed over, grabbing my arm as Martha looked on. "Are you alright?"

"Yep. Never better. I'm just a bit sore. No worries."

"When you say that…" I placed my hand on his cheek, stopping him.

"I'm fine." He nodded and returned to the console as I went to sit in the jump seat, noticing Martha watching us intently. "So, what's happened since I've been asleep?"

"Oh, you know, same old thing as usual."

"So getting into trouble, huh?"

"Well, you know me…" he replied as he rubbed the back of his neck and turned to the console.

As he pulled levers and pressed buttons, the Tardis began to buck. I let out a laugh as Martha held onto the console. She had been asking questions about the Tardis, what makes it go and whatnot, much to the Doctor's dismay. I on the other hand found it a bit endearing that she was so curious. "But how do you travel in time? What makes it go?"

"Oh, let's take the fun and mystery out of everything. Martha, you don't want to know. It just does. Hold on tight!" The Doctor said, putting his Chuck Taylor clad foot onto the console.

"Don't do that. She hates when you dirty up the console." He glanced at me before giving me a quick eye roll. I returned it and stood, making my way to the other side of the console. Pulling a lever, the Tardis jolted to a stop, agreeing with what I'd said and the Doctor and Martha fell to the floor.

"Blimey. Do you have to pass a test to fly this thing?" Martha asked as she stood up.

"Yeah, but _he_ failed miserably," I answered as I moved to the railing and grabbing his jumper. He glared at me and began to chase me around the room, trying to get it back.

"None of the Tardises were right. They were all so dull and without life. Besides, not everyone had big doe eyes," he practically whined.

"My eyes had no part in me passing my test."

"You're right. It was the curves."

I stopped and placed my hand on my hips and giving him a sly smile. "So, you were looking?"

"Yes," he hastily answered before catching himself, his ears turning pink. "No. Give me that," he said, snatching the jumper from me and putting it on. "Anyways, Martha! Now, make the most of it. I promised you one trip and one trip only." He grabbed my hand and raced to the door. "Outside this door… brave new world."

"Where are we?"

"Take a look." The two of us walked to the door and he pushed it open. "After you."

Martha walked out with me following. Looking around, I saw washing hanging on lined below overhanging eaves, scruffy urchins running around, and wooden houses with thatched roofs. "Oh, you are kidding me. You are so kidding me. Oh, my God, we did it. We travelled in time. Where are we?" she asked excitedly. "No, sorry." She held her hand up to keep us from answering. "Got to get used to this whole new language. _When_ are we? "

"Mind out!" the Doctor said as he pulled Martha back. I stepped to the side as a man emptied his slop bucket from an upstairs window.

"Gardez l'eau!"

I grimaced a bit. "Obviously somewhere without toilets."

"Sorry about that."

"I've seen worse. I've worked the late night shift A+E." I shrugged and looped my arm around the Doctor's and the pair of us began to stroll off. While the Doctor figured Martha was following us, I turned to see her standing in the same spot and gave her a questioning expression as I pulled the Doctor to a stop and we walked back over to her. "But are we safe? I mean, can we move around and stuff?"

"Of course we can. Why do you ask?"

"It's like in the films - you step on a butterfly; you change the future of the human race."

I let out a small laugh. "You watch _way_ too many films."

"Tell you what then, don't step on any butterflies. What have butterflies ever done to you?" He began to stride off again, hands deep in his pockets.

"What if, I don't know. What if I kill my grandfather?"

The Doctor turned and faced her, all the while still talking. "Are you planning to?"

"No."

"Well, then."

"And this is London?"

"Yep. 1599," I riposted. I was relishing in the scenery. It was in no way beautiful in normal standards but it was all the same.

"Oh, but hold on. Am I all right? I'm not going to get carted off as a slave, am I?"

"Why would they do that?" I stared at the Doctor in slight disbelief. While skin colour didn't matter, it was obvious Martha was of a darker complexion. I shared a look with the woman and shook my head at the Doctor.

She held up her hand. "Not exactly white, in case you haven't noticed."

"We're not even human. Just walk about like you own the place. Works for me."

"And _that_ tends to get us in trouble."

He shot me a mock glare but continued. "Besides, you'd be surprised- Elizabethan England, not so different from your time. Look over there. They've got recycling." He pointed to a man shovelling horse manure into a bucket. "Water cooler moment." Two men were talking by a water barrel.

"And the world will be consumed by flame!"

"Global warming. Oh, yes, _and _entertainment. Popular entertainment for the masses." He began to look around. "If I'm right, we're just down the river by Southwark, right next to…" He stopped talking and took off running until we passed Southwalk Cathedral. "Oh, yes! The Globe Theatre! Brand new. Just opened. Though, strictly speaking, it's not a globe. It's a tetradecagon, fourteen sides, containing the man himself."

"Whoa, you don't mean…" Martha said wide eyed. "Is Shakespeare in there?"

"Oh, yes. Miss Jones, will you accompany me to the theatre?" He held up his arm for her and she quickly took it. I stared at her for a moment before looking away, feeling a bit uncomfortable by her enthusiasm before shaking my head. She was his _companion_. He didn't mean anything by that, and she was obviously smart enough to take a hint, especially since the Doctor and I weren't shy about displaying our affections.

"Mister Smith, I will."

"When you get home, you can tell everyone you've seen Shakespeare."

"Then, I could get sectioned," was Martha's sarcastic reply. I chuckled at the pair as they began to walk off, feeling a bit left out but ignoring the feeling and the growth of my insecurities. It was her first trip and while I knew the Doctor wouldn't admit it, he was excited to show her around, especially since he was such a huge fan of Shakespeare.

"You coming, Rys?" I glanced up to see the two waiting for me, the Doctor's free arm outstretched, his hand waiting for mine. Smiling up at him, I walked over and reached to take it only for it to be pulled from my reach and his arm to snake around my waist. Kissing the top of my head, the Doctor led Martha and me to the Globe.

We watched the performance in the vast and beautiful theatre and once it was over the crowd erupted in applause. The Doctor beamed, excited to have seen a performance of one of, if not his favourite, playwright's work. "Did you enjoy it?"

"I did but Charlie will always have a place in my hearts." He scowled thinking back to that adventure most likely. It was one of the more frightening ones for me, even more so since Rose had been kidnapped and no one seemed to listen to my warnings. But I did enjoy meeting Charles Dickens. While the Doctor preferred Shakespeare, I was extremely excited about meeting the Charles. He had been one of my favourite authors. Chuckling at the Doctor's expression, I gave him a quick peck on the cheek before reassuringly placing a hand on his cheek.

"That's amazing! Just amazing," Martha spoke happily as she clapped on with the crowd. "It's worth putting up with the smell. And those are men dressed as women, yeah?"

I nodded, resting my head on the Doctor's arm as he spoke. "London never changes."

"Where's Shakespeare? I want to see Shakespeare. Author! Author!" she exclaimed, pumping her fist in the air before turning to us. "Do people shout that? Do they shout Author?"

"Author! Author!" a man repeated and soon the crowd of three thousand are chanting.

I chuckled. "Well, they do now."

Shakespeare then came onto the stage, an air of arrogance surrounding him. As he walked centre stage, he waved a hand, placing it to his lips each time. Subsequently, there was more applause as he did so.

"He's a bit different from his portraits," Martha mused.

"Genius. He's a genius. The genius. The most _human_ human there's ever been. Now we're going to hear him speak. Always he chooses the best words. New, beautiful, brilliant words."

"Don't get your hopes up, sweetie."

"Ah… shut your big fat mouths!" the man said, earning laughter from the audience.

"Oh, well." I chuckled at his disappointment and dropped another kiss on his cheek.

"You should never meet your heroes."

I shrugged. "Maybe but some are quite nice. I think Shakespeare's just a bit full of himself."

"You've got excellent taste, I'll give you that." He pointed to a man in the crowd. "Oh, that's a wig. I know what you're all saying. Love's Labour's Lost, that's a funny ending, isn't it? It just stops. Will the boys get the girls? Well, don't get your hose in a tangle, you'll find out soon." He paused, and in the midst of it, the audience called out "when", each person eager to know what was to come next. "Yeah, yeah. All in good time. You don't rush a genius." He bowed and suddenly the man went snapped upright, staggering back a bit and as rigid as a pole and his expression blank. A shiver ran down my spine as an uneasy feeling enveloped me. It was enough to make me scan the theatre, looking for what had caused the change. When finding nothing, I stared at the man, scrutinising every detail. "When? Tomorrow night." With that said, the crowd cheered happily. "The premiere of my brand new play. A sequel, no less- and I call it _Loves Labour's Won_!"

"I'm not an expert but I've never heard of _Love's Labour's Won_," Martha commented as we filed out of the theatre with the rest of the patrons. My hand was firmly in the Doctor's, needing it as to not be separated as my mind was preoccupied. Back home, the moment my mind was in deep thought, I often disregarded everything around me. That usually led to me getting hurt in some way or form, something that the worried the Doctor endlessly. If anything could be said, even during those times, I never neglected our children which was one worry off his shoulder. A squeeze of the hand brought me from my musings and back to the conversation.

"It's the lost play. It doesn't exist, but there are rumours. It's mentioned in lists of his plays but never turned up," I explained, "and no one knows why."

"Have you got a mini-disc or something? We can tape it. We can flog it. Sell it when we get home and make a mint." I stared at her for a moment before realising that she wasn't serious.

"No," the Doctor deadpanned.

"That would be bad."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Well, how come it disappeared in the first place?"

"Well, I was just going to give you a quick little trip in the Tardis, but I suppose we could stay a bit longer." I forced a quick smile and glanced back at the theatre; Shakespeare's abrupt change still not sitting well with me. Sighing, I went silently walked with them as we made our way through the streets.

A short stroll later we were at the Elephant, a courtyard tavern, looking for Shakespeare. When we found him, he was speaking with two men who seemed to be complaining about the next night's performance. The Doctor knocked and pulled me through the door, leaving Martha to follow. "Hello! Excuse me, not interrupting, am I? Mister Shakespeare, isn't it?"

"Oh, no. No, no, no. Who let you in?" he questioned almost exasperated and held his hand out, not sparing us a glance. "No autographs. No, you can't have yourself sketched with me. And please don't ask where I get my ideas from. Thanks for the interest. Now be a good boy and shove-" He then looked up and saw Martha and me.

"Hey, nonny nonny. Sit right down here next to me. You two get sewing on them costumes. Off you go." The two men glanced at the playwright in shock, looking up at the innkeeper as she began to usher them out.

"Come on, lads. I think our William's found his new muse."

"Sweet ladies." Martha moved from behind us and took a seat while I remained by the Doctor. "Such unusual clothes. So… fitted."

"Er, verily, forsooth, egads." I groaned a bit as I shook my head at her. The Doctor released my hand and sat in the other chair.

"No, no. Don't do that. Don't." The Doctor told Martha before reaching into his pocket and retrieving the psychic paper. "I'm Sir Doctor of Tardis, Dame Cerys of the Powell Estates, and this is our-"

"Your," I corrected. While I had no problem with Martha, she wasn't my companion. The Doctor had asked invited her into the Tardis. Even still, I hoped she would become a friend. I was nowhere near ready to take on a companion of my own, not yet at least. I was looking forward to that day, though.

"Right. _My_ companion, Miss Martha Jones."

"Interesting, that bit of paper- it's blank."

"Oh, that's… very clever. That proves it- absolute genius."

"No, it says so right there," Martha announced, taking the wallet. "Sir Doctor, Dame Cerys, Martha Jones. It says so."

"And I sat it's blank."

"Psychic paper. Um, long story. Oh, I hate starting from scratch." He flipped it close and returned it to his pocket. I chuckled a bit at his disdain.

"Psychic? Never heard that before and words are my trade. Who are you, exactly? More's the point, who is your delicious blackamoor lady and your ravishing enigmatic peeress?"

"You aren't my type," I chuckled, catching the glare the Doctor shot him as he spoke to me. "Besides, my heart belongs to another." Smiling, I pressed a kiss on the Doctor's cheek, taking his attention off William, who nodded and turned his attention to Martha.

"What did you say?" Glancing at the woman, I realised she didn't know whether to be offended by his words.

"Whoops. Isn't that a word we use nowadays? An Ethiop girl? A swarth? A Queen of Afric?"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this."

"It's political correctness gone mad," I noted, explaining he meant no offence.

"Er, Martha's from a far-off land. Freedonia."

Just then, a man in expensive clothes entered the room, his gold chain rattling against his large abdomen. "Excuse me! Hold hard a moment. This is abominable behaviour. A new play with no warning. I demand to see a script, Mister Shakespeare. As Master of the Revels, every new script must be registered at my office and examined by me before it can be performed."

"Tomorrow morning, first thing, I'll send it 'round," Shakespeare responded.

"I don't work on your schedule, you work on mine. The script, now!"

"I can't."

"Then tomorrow's performance is cancelled."

"It's all go 'round here, isn't it?" Martha questioned.

"I'm returning to my office for a banning order. If it's the last thing I do, _Love's Labours Won_ will never be played." The man soon left the room, leaving nothing but the sound of his footsteps on the stairs and the clanging of his chains.

"Well then," Martha started, taking a sip of her drink, "mystery solved. That's _Love's Labours Won_ over and done with. Thought it might be something more, you know, more mysterious."

I shook my head, feeling that wasn't the case. Sighing, I reached for the tankard in front of me only for the Doctor to push it further away from me. I turned and pouted, really wanting something to quench my thirst. When he hadn't wavered, I returned my attention to Martha and William. "Things are never that simple," I commented before a man's voice rang through the air. We all ran out to investigate, hearing women scream for help as we did.

Lynley, the official censor of the area and the man who had yelled at Shakespeare staggered around, with his hands on his chest, profusely spewing up water.

"It's that Lynley bloke."

"What's wrong with him?"

"Does it really matter? He's dying!"

"Right, leave it to me," the Doctor replied as I pushed him forward. "I'm a doctor."

"So am I, near enough," Martha added, grabbing hold to his other arm. Forcing out one more mouthful of water, he groaned and collapsed to the ground. Instead of aiding Martha, the Doctor looked around to look for the source. "Got to get the heart going. Mister Lynley, come on. Can you hear me? You're going to be all right." I stood back as the Doctor returned to help her, watching the two of them try to save the man. Nothing made sense to me. _Love's Labours Won_ is the rumoured play and at this point, it seemed as if someone were trying to get it out, as if they were going after those intent on stopping the performance. Something was at work and whatever it was, it didn't have good intentions. As Martha began to clear the man's airways, water gushed from his mouth. "What the hell is that?"

"I've never seen a death like it. His lungs are full of water. He drowned. I don't know, like a... blow to the heart? An invisible blow," the Doctor said before standing and turning to the innkeeper who had called for assistance. "Good mistress, this poor fellow has died from a sudden imbalance of the humours. A natural, if unfortunate, demise. Call the constable, have him taken away."

"Yes, sir."

"I'll do it, ma'am," a girl in a dark dress said. She had only just come from upstairs, something that seemed extremely odd to me since everyone else was outside. I watched her as she left, my suspicions arising as I caught the slight formation of a smile. I frowned at the action, feeling and knowing she had something to do with the man's death.

"And why are you telling them that?"

"This lot have still got one foot in the Dark Ages. If I tell them the truth, they'll panic and think it was witchcraft."

"Okay, what was it, then?"

"Witchcraft."

When we returned to Shakespeare's room, the man plopping himself in his chair. I sighed, leaning against the Doctor. I was exhausted, mainly from the regeneration. It had started to go wrong in the beginning, an effect from my mixed blood and the cocktail I'd taken. Out of all my regenerations, this was by far the most painless and less taxing. Looking up, I noticed him watching me, worried. Even if I couldn't hear his thoughts, something that I missed greatly, I had known him well enough to decipher his faint expressions. "I got you a room, Sir Doctor, as well as you Dame Cerys and Martha. You are just across the landing and the ladies are next door."

"Thank you, Dolly but I think I'll share with the Doctor."

"Of course."

"We can all fit in one room. None of us are too big." I shot Martha a glance, which she returned, shrugging. It seemed as if the Doctor had made an impression on her. I wasn't the jealous type… at least I _thought_ I wasn't. It seemed as if this incarnation was a bit more possessive of him.

"Then your room is across the landing."

"Poor Lynley. So many strange events. Not least of all, this land of Freedonia where a woman can be a doctor?"

"Where a woman can do what she likes," Martha told him proudly. I couldn't help but chuckle at the fact he brought the conversation to her, especially after the death of a man.

"And you, Sir Doctor. How can a man so young have eyes so old?"

"I do a lot of reading."

"A trite reply. Yeah, that's what I'd do. And you," he said his attention back on Martha, "you look at him like you're surprised he exists. He's as much of a puzzle to you as he is to me. But you, Dame Cerys, are attuned to him, as he is you."

"I should hope so."

"But there's sadness in your eyes as well as fear… a fear of being loved, perhaps?" I took in a breath of air in shock. While I was impressed, I couldn't help but feel a sense of dread, as if I had been left before a crowd stark naked. While my secret hadn't been revealed, I knew that the Doctor would want to know the reason for the man's words.

"I think we should say goodnight," Martha stated before leaving the room.

Shakespeare nodded, agreeing with her. "I must work. I have a play to complete. I'll get my answers tomorrow, Doctor, and I'll discover more about you and why this constant performance of yours."

"All the world's a stage."

"Hmm. I might use that. Goodnight, Doctor, Cerys."

The Doctor moved his arm from my waist to around my shoulders. "Nighty night, Shakespeare." We then made our way to the room we were sharing with Martha. "You wanted to share a room with me?"

I blushed, thinking of just how it came off. While I was in no way averse to sharing a room with him, I wasn't ready for that step yet. I was too afraid and I hadn't truly let him in. Hell, we couldn't even connect. Just because I had regenerated hadn't meant my prior insecurities had dissipated. There was always that nagging sensation that even though we were bound, I wasn't good enough for him, no matter how much he said or did to convince me otherwise. Still the fact that he had brought up what I had said so happily, I couldn't help but feel somewhat embarrassed. "Shut up."

"Rys..."

I pulled away from him, trying to hurry back to the room in an attempt to conceal my red cheeks. "Shut up." Before I had gotten too far, he stopped and grabbed my arm, turning me to him, hungrily pressing his lips to mine. It was the only moment we had alone since I'd regenerated and as it deepened, I was pushed into the wall, his body pinning me to it. I ran my hands through his hair, revelling in its softness and earning a low moan from him. Pulling away, I tapped his nose, smiling up at him. "We should do this more often." He gave a throaty laugh and pulled me into the room.

Once inside, I jumped onto the bed, sprawling myself on the left side. Martha stood by the Doctor, holding a candle. Something about how close she was to him irritated me. I shook the thought away, chuckling at myself. This one was _definitely_ more possessive than any of the others.

"It's not exactly five star, is it?" Martha asked as she closed a cupboard.

The Doctor shut the door. "Oh, it'll do. I've seen worse."

"I haven't even got a toothbrush."

"Oh, um…" He patted his pockets and produced one. "Contains Venusian spearmint."

"So, who's going where? I mean, there's only one bed."

"We'll manage. Come on."

"No, she's right. You can sleep on the floor."

"What, and let Martha keep the bed?"

"I was going to sleep on it as well."

"If I'm on the floor, you are too."

"Fine, I'll sleep on the floor."

"You're on the bed. The three of us." I grumbled but agreed, interjecting that it would be a tight and uncomfortable fit.

"So, magic and stuff. That's a surprise. It's all a little bit _Harry Potter_."

"Wait till you read book seven. Ohh! I cried." I smiled, making a note to read through the series.

"But is it real, though- I mean, witches, black magic and all that- it's real?"

"Course it isn't." He came and scooted me over so that he was on the end. It left me in the middle of him and Martha, not that I minded. Although I had no misgivings against her, I didn't want her anywhere near the Doctor.

"Well, how am _I_ supposed to know? I've only just started believing in time travel. Give me a break."

"Looks like witchcraft but isn't," I explained.

"Can't be," he finished before looking up at the woman. "Are you going to stand there all night?"

She walked over and placed the candle on the end table. "Budge up a bit, then," she said to me as she squished in. I grumbled and pushed the Doctor off the bed. There was no way the three of us would fit on the tiny cot. "Sorry, there's not much room. Us three here, same bed. Tongues will wag."

"Highly doubt that one. While this is London, most would think he slept on the floor, you know, being the gentleman he is," I replied as the Doctor stood from the flooring glaring at me. Smirking, I blew him a kiss.

He ignored my quip and went to sit in the arm chair. "There's such a thing as psychic energy, but a human couldn't channel it like that, not without a generator the size of Taunton and I think we'd have spotted that. No. There's something I'm missing."

"Yeah, like something's staring you in the face and you can't see it. I'm getting that too."

"Rose would know. A friend of mine, Rose, her sister. Right now, she'd say exactly the right thing."

"Or say something that would have us at outs for a few adventures. Besides, even Rose would have a bit of a problem figuring this out."

He smiled at me, silently agreeing to my comment. "Still, can't be helped. You're a novice, never mind. I'll take you back home tomorrow."

"Great," Martha deadpanned before she then blew out the candle and got comfortable.

A few hours later, I sat up, feeling as if something major was going to happen. Rushing past the Doctor, who had also been awake, I ran to the door, not noticing his watchful eyes. Just as my hand touched the doorknob, a scream cut through the early morning air. Without waiting for the pair, I raced out of the room, leaving them to follow me to Shakespeare's chamber.

The man was standing, his eyes wide, terrified and confused. "What? What was that?"

I looked down to see Dolly lying on the floor, dead. The Doctor and Martha finally joined us, the two trailing my gaze. The former couched down, inspecting the deceased woman. "Her heart gave out. She died of fright."

As he said that, I travelled to the window, seeing the silhouette of a woman against the moon. It looked like the stereotypical witch flying across the sky cackling, something that didn't calm my suspicions or worries. "Doctor?" I called, the man in question joining me a moment later.

"What did you see?"

"A witch. It was laughing as it flew away on its broom." I turned to face him, not truly believing what I saw. Whatever we were dealing with, wanted us to believe they were witches… and that didn't sit well with me. With a quick squeeze to the Doctor's hand, I left the room, deep in thought.

When I returned, the sun had begun to rise and I found Shakespeare sitting at his desk, Martha leaning against it and the Doctor against the wall. Shakespeare seemed to be in despair, the loss of Dolly a blow to him. "Oh, sweet Dolly Bailey. She sat out three bouts of the plague in this place when we all ran like rats. But what could have scared her so?" The man took to his chair. "She had such enormous spirit."

"Rage, rage against the dying of the light," the Doctor recited, quoting Dylan Thomas, distracted as he tried to solve the mystery before us. I joined him by the wall, leaning back against his body. When I was comfortable, he wrapped his arms around my torso and rested his chin on the top of my head.

"I might use that."

"Can't. Someone else's words," I told him absentmindedly as I played with the Doctor's fingers, still thinking.

"But the thing is," Martha started, "Lynley drowned on dry land, Dolly died of fright, and they were both connected to you."

"You're accusing _me_?"

"No, but Rys saw a witch flying, cackling away, and you've written about witches."

"I have? When was that?"

"Not yet," I informed her, giving a bit of an eye roll. I wasn't really upset with her, or annoyed even. It was the situation that bothered me. I could feel the answer staring me in the face but for the life of me I couldn't grasp it. I hated that feeling, the one of knowing but not knowing. Moments as such often left me in a fit of rage until I figured it out, wanting to be alone with my thoughts until I did. Yet in this situation, locking myself away would do nothing to help the situation.

"Peter Streete spoke of witches."

"Who's Peter Streete?"

"Our builder. He sketched the plans to the Globe."

"The architect. Hold on." The Doctor pushed forward, keeping his grip on me as he did. If he hadn't, the sudden movement would have sent me to the floor. Glancing at him, I waited for him to continue his thought. "The architect! The architect! The Globe! Come on!"

We stood on the stage of the Globe Theatre. While Martha and Shakespeare stood on the stage, the Doctor was in the pit while I wandered around, pondering the atmosphere of the place. As I reached the side of the stage, realization hit me. I let out a low groan and walked back to the Doctor, only for him to start pacing. "The columns there, right, and fourteen sides. I've always wondered, but I never asked. Tell me, Will. Why fourteen sides?"

"It was the shape Peter Streete thought best, that's all. Said it carried the sound well."

"Fourteen. Why does that ring a bell? Fourteen."

"There's fourteen lines in a sonnet," Martha offered.

"So there is. Good point. Words and shapes following the same design. Fourteen lines, fourteen sides, fourteen facets. Oh, my head!" He ran a hand through his hair, mussing it up. "Tetradecagon. Think! Think! Think! Words, letters, numbers, lines!"

"Don't strain yourself, dear. And stop hitting yourself."

He glanced at me, realizing what I had said. "You figured it out? Tell me."

"No."

"Please?" I smirked, shaking my head.

"This is just a theatre."

"Just a theatre?" I questioned, shaking my head. "Maybe to you but it's also magic. With the right words, the right emphasis, and the perfect timing, you could make a person weep with sorrow or cry with joy. The theatre changes them, their minds. All it takes are the right words."

"You are brilliant."

"Tell me about it later."

"It's like the police box. Small wooden box with all that _power_ inside."

"Oh. Oh, Martha Jones, I like you. Tell you what, though. Peter Streete would know. Can I talk to him?"

"You won't get an answer. A month after finishing this place, lost his mind."

"Why? What happened?"

"Started raving about witches, hearing voices, babbling. His mind was addled."

"Where is he now?"

"Bedlam."

"What's Bedlam?"

"Bethlem Hospital. The madhouse."

"We're going there. Right now. Come on."

"Wait! I'm coming with you. I want to witness this at first hand." As we walked out, two men entered the theatre. "Ralph! The last scene as promised. Copy it, hand it round, learn it, speak it. Back before curtain up. And remember, kid, project. Eyes and teeth. You never know- the Queen might turn up. As if. She never does." Once done, he joined us as we walked down Southwark. "So, tell me of Freedonia, where women can be doctors, writers, actors."

"This country is ruled by a woman."

"Ah, she's royal. That's God's business. Though you are a royal beauty." I chuckled and pulled the Doctor to a stop, noticing that the pair had come to a halt behind us.

"Whoa, Nelly! I know for a fact you've got a wife in the country."

"But Martha, this is Town."

"Come on. We can all have a good flirt later."

"Is that a promise, Doctor?"

"Oh, fifty seven academics just punched the air."

I laughed at his musing. "Probably not, Will. He's only allowed to flirt with me."

"And why is that?" Martha questioned. I glanced at her wondering whether I should be worried before realising that she was genuinely curious.

"You ask him. You are _his_ companion," I teased, giving her a smile so that she'd know I wasn't being serious.

"Doctor?" As we shared a glance, I realised she was doing so as well, hoping to get a bit of fun.

"Oh, we don't have time for this. Now move!" I laughed knowing she wouldn't get an answer and grabbed his hand, smiling as he squeezed it.

When we reached Bethlem Hospital, I stopped at the door, not really wanting to enter. I knew it was a madhouse and I knew the emotions that permeated the place but I didn't want to feel it. It would hurt too much. I felt arms encircle my waist as I was pulled towards the Doctor. Finding comfort, I cleared my mind and built my mental walls so that I would not be affected by the emotions. When it was done, I pulled out of his arms and tapped his nose, thanking him. Smiling, he took my hand and we entered the hospital.

"Does my Lord Doctor wish some entertainment while he waits?" the keeper asked as we walked past a cell with a man frantically reaching out. "I'd whip these madmen. They'll put on a good show for you. Mad dog in Bedlam."

"No, I don't."

"Well, wait here, my lords, while I make him decent for the ladies." The Keeper walked away, slamming a hand against one of the doors to silence the person behind it.

"So this is what you call a hospital, yeah? Where the patients are whipped to entertain the gentry? And you put your friend in here?"

"Oh, it's all so different in Freedonia."

"But you're clever. Do you honestly think this place is any good?"

"I've been mad. I've lost my mind. Fear of this place set me right again. It serves its purpose."

"Mad in what way?"

"You lost your son," the Doctor said, his face emotionless to the others but I knew what he felt. The pain that came with losing a child was worse than anything. For our people, it was second to losing an Ame Soeur but it was just as painful. I rested my head against his arm, thinking of our child. He would have been 482 if he were alive. A stray tear fell as I thought of the man he could have been.

"My only boy. The Black Death took him. I wasn't even there."

"I didn't know. I'm sorry."

"It made me question everything. The futility of this fleeting existence, to be or not to be. Oh, that's quite good."

"Write that down," I said with a small smile.

"Maybe not. A bit pretentious?"

"This way, my lords!" We walked to the end of the corridor, the wails of the people imprisoned suffocating me. We came to a stop when we reached Peter Streete's cell. Walking into the cell, we saw the man was hunched over in a corner, with rags for clothes and his back to us. "They can be dangerous, my lord. Don't know their own strength."

"I think it helps if you don't whip them. Now, get out!" The keeper hastily left after the Doctor's outburst as I grabbed his face, looking into his eyes until he calmed. Martha watched from the side, a glint of awe in her eyes. It was almost as if she couldn't believe one gesture could calm his rage. Finally calm, we walked over to huddled mass. "Peter. Peter Streete?"

"He's the same as he was. You'll get nothing out of him."

I ignored him and walked over, crouching as well. "Peter?" I gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Peter looked up, staring at me, wide eyed. Exchanging a glance with the Doctor, I stood and moved aside, allowing him to do what he could. Watching, he placed his fingers on Peter's temples, entering his mind, just as he had with Rinette. The memory of that adventure brought up an unpleasant feeling that I quickly pushed away. There was too many suppressed feelings from those adventures and it seemed the longer they remained that way, the more it eat at me. Even still, I didn't want to dwell on that. I was with the Doctor and it made me happier than anything to just be with him. I didn't want to worry or give in to my insecurities. I didn't want to be that person anymore. I _refused_ to be her.

"Peter, I'm the Doctor. Go into the past. One year ago. Let your mind go back. Back to when everything was fine and shining. Everything that happened in this year since happened to somebody else. It was just a story, A Winter's Tale. Let go. That's it. That's it, just let go." He laid Peter onto his cot. "Tell me the story, Peter. Tell me about the witches."

"Witches… spoke to Peter. In the night, they whispered. They whispered." He began to wildly gesture at his ear as if he were hearing something. "Got Peter to build the Globe to their design. _Their _design. The fourteen walls. Always fourteen. When the work was done…" he began to laugh. "They- they snapped poor Peter's wits."

"Where did Peter see the witches, where in the city?" The Doctor knelt down so that they were eye to eye. "Peter, tell me. You've got to tell me, where were they?"

He began to pant. "All Hallows Street."

Suddenly a witch appeared, leaning over the Doctor's shoulder. "Too many words."

"What the hell?"

"Just one touch of the heart."

"No!" Ignoring the Doctor, the creature tapped Peter's chest and with a scream of pain, he took his final breath.

"Witch! I'm seeing a witch!"

"Now, who would be next, hmm? Just one touch. Oh, oh! I'll stop your frantic hearts," she mocked. "Poor, fragile mortals."

"Let us out! Let us out!"

"Honestly, Martha, do you think that's going to work? The entire building's screaming that," I verbalized to the terrified woman. I could understand the reaction but even in her fear, she should have known that wouldn't work, especially not in this place.

"Who will die first, hmm?"

"Well, if you're looking for volunteers," the Doctor answered, taking a step towards her.

"No! Don't!"

"Shush."

"Doctor, can you stop her?"

"No mortal has power over me."

"Oh, but there's a power in words. If I can find the right one. If I can just know you… although she has probably figured this out."

"I have."

"None on Earth has knowledge of us."

"Then it's a good thing we're here. Now think, think, think- humanoid female, uses shapes and words to channel energy. Ah! Fourteen!" the creature gave an indignant sigh and backed away. "That's it! Fourteen!"

"Think the fourteen stars of the Rexal planetary configuration," I added, smiling as I watched him work it out.

"Creature, I name you… Carrionite!" The creature screamed and disappeared in a flash of light.

"What did you do?"

"I named her. The power of a name. That's old magic."

"There's no such thing as magic."

"Of course there is," I said. "It's just a different kind of science. Humans chose mathematics and the Carrionites use words."

"Use them for what?"

"The end of the world."

* * *

_Hey all! So, this update is a bit late and my apologises. I've been working 30 hour weeks while going to school full time so I haven't had much time to post the new chapter. I also ended up in the hospital again. But anyways, they are adorable. When I first wrote these first few chapters, I was going to make Martha try to pursue the Doctor even with the obvious love between the Doctor and Rys but considering how Martha's family was broken up in a similar way, it didn't seem to make sense. Honestly, I like this version a lot better, especially since Rys is coming into her new body and discovering what type of woman she is. So far we have her discovering that is actually quite possessive of our travelling Time Lord. We'll see how this plays out throughout the season. And what did you think of Time Heist? I honestly wanted more of Clara, as well as to know about her and Danny's date. They're so friggen cute together. It was an episode I enjoyed (although I enjoy most of them) and the 'twist' at the end was great. But let me know what you think. With that said, I want to thank all who followed and reviewed the story. It makes me so happy. I can say that Her Secrets has hit the hundred review mark YAY! ^.^ I think just because, I'll leave a s surprise after the reviews. _

_**NicoleR85**: That's exactly what I meant. 'Cerys' has died, it was a part of her that held all of her insecurities and doubts. Compared to Rys, she was so emotionally unstable and had so many problems. With the new body, came a new personality, a new resolve. She's confident and doesn't want to be the person who pushes him away, who won't let her insecurities get to her. She still has them, something that's seen in the beginning of the chapter, but she decides not to let it affect her as it would in her previous body. _

_**geogirl2014**: The addition of Donna will definitely be a trip. Thanks so much and I'm so glad you're enjoying the story. _

_**I'm-a-Klaus-addict**: I totally killed her. I had no choice. Rys held me at gunpoint :'( Honestly, your hair, although it was a seemed to be a bit of a mishap, sounds awesome. I'd love my hair to be that colourful and am hoping to go half Tardis blue and half Lilac, depending on if I can get a better job since mine only accepts "natural" hair colours. Her new appearance will definitely bring on a badass sort of attitude... well kind of, I hope. I've been trying to get my dad to watch Doctor Who with me but he keeps flaking. I did find someone I could watch the show with but I've only just made their acquaintance so I won't be visiting their house anytime soon. But things are getting a whole lot interesting between the lovers. _

* * *

_So, I promised a surprise, so here it is. I give you a sneak peak into an upcoming chapter. _

_**After making our way over the river, we ended up in Central Park. As we walked through, I couldn't help but giggle like a young girl as I took in the beautiful surroundings. Excited, I took off ahead of the two, running around in pure elation. Behind me, I could hear the Doctor and Martha laughing at me. I turned and stuck my tongue out at them before running up to the Doctor and slapping his arm, winking as I ran away. Almost immediately, he took off after me.**_

_**As I ran through the trees, I saw Martha watching us, an amused expression on her face as she sat on a bench. Removing my gaze from her, I turned to see the Doctor quickly gaining on me. Letting out another giggle, I took off into a maze of trees, trying to evade him as stealthily as possible, which didn't happen. As I hid behind a tree, I didn't notice him sneaking up behind me until his arms were around me waist. "I win," he muttered, his breath tickling my ear. I turned and faced him, a sultry smile on my lips. Without saying a word, I grabbed the lapels of his coat and pulled him closer, his lips meeting mine without hesitation. After a great snog session, I pushed him away, giving him a quick peck as he pouted. Once we were straightened up, we made our way back to Martha.**_


	39. Putting off the End of the World

Leaving Bedlam, we returned to the Elephant. Once back in Shakespeare's room, the Doctor and I were trying to explain the Carrionites to Martha and Shakespeare as the latter washed his face. As we did that, I took down some of my mental shields, needing to feel something after the emptiness. I had spent years trapped within my own mind, void of the buzz that came with being surrounded by, for lack of a better term, my people. And now that they were gone, the slight hum that came from around me was welcoming.

"The Carrionites disappeared way back at the dawn of the universe. Nobody was sure if they were real or legend."

"Well, I'm going for real," William interjected as he faced us.

"What do they want?"

I sighed and answered her. "A world of blood, bones, and witchcraft. So basically a new empire."

"But how?"

"I'm looking at the man with the words."

"Me? But I've done nothing."

"Hold on, though. What were you doing last night, when that Carrionite was in the room?"

"Finishing the play."

"And the last page?"

"The boys get the girls. They have a bit of a dance. It's all as funny and thought-provoking as usual. Except those last few lines. Funny thing is, I don't actually remember writing them."

"That's it. They used you. They gave you the final words like a spell, like a code. Love's Labours Won. It's a weapon. The right combination of words, spoken in the right place, with the shape of the Globe as an energy converter! The play's the thing! And yes, you can have that," he said before Will could ask.

Minutes later, we were looking down at a very inaccurate map. After a bit of figuring out, I found what we were looking for. "All Hallows Street- there it is. Martha, we'll track them down. Will, you get to the Globe. Whatever you do, stop that play."

"I'll go with him."

"No, you're with me."

"Doctor…"

"Rys, I need you with me." I sighed, nodding.

"I'll do it. All these years, I've been the cleverest man around. Next to you, I know nothing."

"Well, don't complain."

"I'm not. It's marvellous. Good luck, Doctor."

"Good luck, Shakespeare," he replied as he grabbed my hand and raced to the door. "Once more unto the breach!"

"I like that! Wait a minute… that's one of mine."

The Doctor popped his head from around the corner. "Oh, just shift."

Ten minutes later we were on All Hallows Street. I instantly put up my barriers, having a bad feeling about what we were about to walk into. The Doctor's hand held mine as we stood there. "All Hallows Street. But which house?"

"Thing is, though am, I missing something here? The world didn't end in 1599. It just didn't. Look at me. I'm living proof," Martha questioned.

"Oh, how to explain the mechanics of the infinite temporal flux? I know. Back to the Future. It's like Back to the Future."

"The film?"

"No, the novelisation," he replied sarcastically, earning a face from Martha. "Yes, the film. Marty McFly goes back and changes history."

"And he starts fading away. Oh my god, am I going to fade?"

"You and the entire future of the human race. It ends right now in 1599 if we don't stop it. But which house?" A door creaked open.

"I think you meant witch house," I commented as we stepped inside.

Walking through the dreary place, we found ourselves in a cluttered room. The maid from the inn stood before us, waiting. "I take it we're expected."

"Oh, I think Death has been waiting for you a very long time."

"Right then. It's my turn," Martha stated confidently, walking in front of us. "I know how to do this. I name thee… Carrionite!" The woman gasped and began to snicker when nothing happened. Confused, Martha glanced back at us. "What did I do wrong? Was it the finger?"

"The power of a name works only once. Observe. I gaze upon this bag of bones and now I name thee Martha Jones!" Instantly Martha fell back and the Doctor caught her.

"What have you done?!"

"She's fine, just sleeping," I replied.

"Such knowledge. It's curious. The name has less impact. She's somehow out of her time. And as for you, Sir Doctor, Dame Cerys-" She cocked her head to the side, a faint smile on her lips when nothing happened. "Fascinating. There is no name. Why would a pair hide their title in such despair? Oh… but look. There's still one word with the power that aches."

"The naming won't work on us."

She turned to me. "But your heart grows cold. The north wind blows and carries down the distant… Rose?"

"That's your mistake. That name, it belongs to my sister and it keeps me fighting every damn day. Do me a favour, don't dirty it with your tongue or you will beg to return to where you came."

The Doctor grabbed me and pulled me to him, resting his chin on my head. "The Carrionites vanished. Where did you go?"

"The Eternals found the right word to banish us into the deep darkness."

"If I have my way you won't even go there."

"Shh." Irritated, I elbowed him in the stomach, not liking that he'd shushed me. "And how did you escape?"

"New words- new and glittering, from a mind like no other."

"Shakespeare."

The contents of the cauldron began to bubble, showing a distraught Shakespeare. "His son perished. The grief of a genius- grief without measure- madness enough to allow us entrance."

"How many?" I asked, moving away from him and turning my attention to Martha.

"Just the three. But the play tonight shall restore the rest. Then the human race will be purged, as pestilence. And from this world, we will lead the universe back into the old ways of blood and magic."

"Hmm." He walked up to her, rubbing the back of his neck. "Busy schedule but first… you've got to get past me."

"Oh, that should be a pleasure," she said, closing the distance between them, "considering my enemy has such a… handsome shape." I grimaced as she caressed his face and wrapped an arm around his neck. The urge to rip her arm off for touching what was mine popped into my head but I quickly pushed it away, the thought scaring me. I'd never cared much for violence of any kind but I was particularly good at using it from the days of the war. It seemed the new me wasn't adverse about the use of it, something I both minded and didn't, especially in this situation.

"Now, that's one form of magic that's definitely not going to work on me, especially from you."

"Oh, we'll see." She cut some hairs from the back of his head and began to laugh.

"What's that for? What did you do?"

"A souvenir."

"Well, give it back." She flew out the window, sniggering. "Well, that's just cheating."

"Behold, Doctor- men, to Carrionites, are nothing but puppets." She whipped out a small doll and wrapped the hair around it as Martha woke up.

"Now, you might call that magic. I'd call that a DNA replication module."

"What use is your science now?" she asked as she stabbed the doll. The Doctor let out a scream and fell as the girl flew away.

Martha stumbled to her feet, running to him. Standing, I joined her a moment later waiting for him to quit playing dead. "Oh my God, Doctor. Don't worry, I've got you. Hold on, mister. Two hearts?" Martha also realised his rouse.

"I'm making a habit of this," he said as he hopped to his feet, only to double over. "Ah!"

"What?"

"Nothing, dear. I've only got one heart working. How do you people cope? I've got to get the other one started. Hit me!"

"Gladly," I replied as I whacked his chest, harder than I should have might I add.

"Dah! Martha do the other side. She's angry. Can't have her hit me when she's angry. I'll have bruises."

"Don't touch him, Martha. Turn around, Doctor." Martha, who had taken a step towards us, backed away, eyeing me hesitantly. While I wasn't one to be overly enthusiastic about causing anyone harm, at the moment, I didn't care much. I was extremely irritated that he had just let the Carrionite take his hair, that she had tried to use Rose's name against me, and that he had been in this situation before and hadn't mentioned it to me.

"Not too-" he was cut off by my blow. "Ah lovely. There we go. Bada boom! That's going to bruise."

"I don't care."

"This you is violent."

"And quite fine with weapons might I add."

"Is it?"

"I was thinking of a gun, sonic blaster, like Jack's but better."

"No."

"Why?"

"You with a gun mean's I'm running from you when you're upset."

"Better that way. Besides, you always thought I was sexy with a gun." I smiled and kissed the tip of his nose, leaving him a bit flustered as he thought of the time he had made that comment. Martha glanced between us, most likely confused before realising it was a private joke from his expression… one that she probably and hopefully wouldn't ask about.

The Doctor, coming out of his stupor, grabbed my hand. "Well, what are you standing there for? Come one! The Globe!" Running out, he went straight while Martha and I stopped.

"We're going the wrong way!" she shouted.

"No, we're not!" He stopped and turned around, coming back to us. "We're going the wrong way!" I rolled my eyes at him and followed the two as they went the right way.

As we reached the corner before the theatre, we could hear the screams of those who had attended the performance as well as the bright red light that hovered over the building. I had kept my barriers up but some of the emotions were able to reach me. They were frightened beyond belief and as we forced our way in, we were met with those pushing their way out of the theatre. We found Shakespeare in a chair, rousing from what I could assume was slumber. I shook my head, trying not to laugh at the poor man. The Doctor was not as amused. "Stop the play. I think that was it. Yeah, I said, stop the play!"

"I hit my head."

"Yeah? Don't rub it, you'll go bald." There were more screams followed by a loud crash. "I think that's my cue!" he said as he grabbed my hand and we ran onto the stage, leaving Martha and Shakespeare to follow. We watched as a red light flashed and bat-like creatures flew around the theatre, circling before they flew up. Glancing at the people, I saw that they had been trapped inside. My attention was then drawn to the Carrionites. Grimacing, I turned away from them, already planning my attack. "Come on, Will! History needs you!" The Doctor grabbed him and placed him at centre stage.

"But what can I do?"

"Reverse it!"

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"The shape of the Globe gives words power, but you're the wordsmith, the one true genius. The only man clever enough to do it!"

"But what words? I have none ready!"

I smiled at the man. "You're William Shakespeare."

"But these Carrionite phrases, they need such precision."

"Trust yourself."

"When you're locked away in your room, the words just come, don't they, like magic? Words of the right sound, the right shape, the right rhythm- words that last forever. That's what you do, Will. You choose perfect words. Improvise. Believe in yourself."

The man nodded, taking my words to heart. "Close up this din of hateful, dire decay, decomposition of your witches' plot! You thieve my brains, consider me your toy. My doting Cerys tells me I am not!"

"No! Words of power!"

"Foul Carrionite spectres, cease your show! Between the points…"

"Seven six one three nine oh!"

"Seven six one three nine oh! Vanish like a tinker's cuss, I say to thee…" Will looked back at us, trying to find the right word.

"Expelliarmus!" Martha threw out.

"Expelliarmus!"

"Expelliarmus!"

"Good old JK!"

"We should visit her," I mused as the Carrionites screamed.

"The deep darkness! They are consumed!" the blonde Carrionite screamed as her kin were sucked into a tornado, along with all of the pages of the play.

"Love's Labours Won. There it goes."

Once they all disappeared, the sky cleared. After a moment of silence, scattered applause filled the theatre until everyone joined in. "They think it was all special effects?"

"Your effect is special indeed."

"It's not your best line."

I smiled at the two before heading to the empty box. Picking up a crystal, I saw the young Carrionite and two old hags scratching at the glass and shrieking. I tossed it in the air, catching it as it came down before I turned to face the Doctor who had followed me. Placing it in his pocket, we returned to Martha and William.

When we returned to the inn, I went straight to the room and collapsed onto the bed, my breathing heavy and my hearts racing. Although I was able to ignore the pain during the Carrionite situation, with nothing to do, it demanded to be felt. Even still, it was less painful than what I usually experienced. Huffing out a laboured breath, I drifted to sleep, allowing my body to properly heal itself.

Waking up the next morning, I found myself alone in the room. Sitting up, I internally examined myself to find everything was as it should be and that there were no complications. Smiling, I hopped out of bed and ran my fingers through my hair, detangling it the best I could. Thinking the Doctor and Martha were with Will, I checked his room, only to find it empty. Sighing I left the tavern for the Globe.

Arriving I saw Martha and Shakespeare talking. I smiled and walked up to them, giving a small greeting. "How's things?"

"Well. We were just sharing a joke."

"Did you tell him the pub one?"

"How'd you know?"

"Guessed," I answered as Will wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him.

"I've only just met you."

"The Doctor may never kiss you."

"Will never are the proper words," I piped in.

"Why not entertain a man who will?"

"I don't know how to tell you this, oh great genius… but your breath doesn't half stink," Martha answered after shooting me an apologetic smile. Just then the Doctor came onto the stage. Around his neck was a small stiff ruff and in his hand was the skull of an animal. I gave a small smile, trying not to laugh at how silly he looked.

"Good props store, back there. I'm not sure about this though. Reminds me of a Sycorax."

"Too small."

"Sycorax? Nice word. I'll have that off you, as well."

"I should be on ten percent. How's your head?"

"Still aching."

"Here. I got you this." He removed the ruff and put it on Shakespeare. "Neck brace. Wear that for a few days till it's better, although you might want to keep it- suits you."

"What about the play?"

"Gone. I looked all over. Every single copy of Love's Labours Won went up in the sky."

"My lost masterpiece."

"You could write it up again."

"Yeah, better not, Will. There's still power in those words. Maybe it should best stay forgotten."

"Oh, but I've got new ideas. Perhaps it's time I wrote about fathers and sons, in memory of my boy, my precious Hamnet."

"Hamnet?"

"That's him."

"Ham…net?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"Anyway, time we were off. I've got a nice attic in the Tardis, where this lot can scream for all eternity, and I've got to take Martha back to Freedonia."

"You mean travel through time and space?"

I smiled at the man. "Clever. Bit more than Dickens. He never figured it out."

"You what?"

"You're from another world like the Carrionites, and Martha is from the future. It's not hard to work out."

"That's… incredible. You are incredible."

"We're alike in many ways, Doctor. Martha, let me say goodbye to you in a new verse, a sonnet for my Dark Lady. Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" I nudged the Doctor as he made a face. "Thou art more lovely and more temperate."

Then two men ran in. "Will!"

"Will, you'll never believe it. She's here! She's turned up!"

"We're the talk of the town. She heard about last night. She wants us to perform it again."

"Who?" Martha questioned.

"Her Majesty. She's here."

As the actor said that, fanfare began to play and an elderly Elizabeth entered the theatre followed by two pike men. I glanced up at the woman in awe. "Queen Elizabeth the First."

"Rys?"

"Huh?"

"My sworn enemy."

"Huh?"

"Off with her head!"

"Huh?"

"Never mind that, just run! See you, Will, and thanks," Martha said as the Doctor grabbed my hand and started to run.

"Stop that pernicious woman!"

The three of us ran as a pike man chased after us. "Stop! In the name of the Queen!"

"What have you done to upset her?"

"I don't know. I haven't even met her yet."

"Can't wait to find out although I have a feeling Rys here did it to defend my honour."

"Probably more to keep her from whisking you away from me," I laughed as we reached the Tardis and piled in.

"That's definitely something to look forward to." He shut the door just before an arrow hit it, laughing before running to the console.

Stretching, I smiled at the two, "I don't know about you guys, but I could do for a shower."

"I locked your room," he said as I started to leave the room.

"What? Why?"

"I blocked of the area."

"Why?" He looked down as I glared at him. "You idiot, I'm not going to have another go at it. Yeah it hurts but I'm coping, or trying to cope. I miss her more than anything but I need my room."

"You have a new one."

"Doctor…"

"I figured you'd want to share a room anyways. You aren't a human anymore." I groaned and stormed up to him, whacking the Time Lord on the arm. "Ow!"

"I want my things back in my room." He gave me 'the eyes' before huffing, and pressing buttons on the Tardis. "Thank you," I said as I left the console room for mine, ignoring the look Martha gave us.

After a long shower, which was all I could do since my bath had been removed, I found a pair of leggings and an oversized sweater. Although this incarnation was very into leather, it was fine with comfy clothes while in the Tardis. Leaving the room, I went to the kitchen to bake a batch of chocolate cheesecake cupcakes. When they had finished, I grabbed three and went to the console room. I found the Doctor under the console and Martha leaning against the rail, watching him. I offered one to her before I bent down, nudging his leg with my free hand. "I've got a treat for you."

"You're moving in?"

"No," I said, rolling my eyes at him as he sat up, only to hit his head, "you idiot." I placed the plate on the floor and stood. Grabbing his leg, I pulled him from underneath the console.

"You made the cupcakes."

"I wondered if this incarnation of you would like them."

"They're delicious. How'd you learn to bake this?" Martha asked, her voice a bit muffled as she munched away.

"I've always liked to bake. Did it for this idiot more times than I could count." I turned to see him happily chomping away. "Glad you like it."

"Like it? Love it. Anything you bake turns out delicious."

"Shut up."

"Would you like to repeat that?"

"Not sure although I do know you'd like it."

"Always."

"Still in the room."

"You are. Uh, has he showed you your room?"

"My room?"

"You aren't going home yet. Come on," I said as I grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the room.

"I promised one trip!"

"And I'm saying one more." He grumbled under his breath. "What was that?"

"Nothing."

I laughed as I pulled her down the corridor, turning left, and going down another. "Why are you being nice to me?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"One minute it's the 'glare of death' and the next you're giving me cupcakes and giving me a room."

"Glare of death?"

"Scary look."

"I didn't realize. I can apologize but I'm sure it'll come out again. But 'glare of death', I like it."

"How long have you travelled with the Doctor?"

"Two years. It would have been longer but, uh, stuff got in the way."

"Stuff?"

"Yep, stuff. Anyways, here's your room," I smiled as I pushed the door open, motioning for her to enter.

"Thanks."

I nodded and returned to the console room where I went to sit on the jump seat. The Doctor had returned to whatever he had been doing to the Tardis, the plate was still on the floor, mine uneaten. I smiled at his thoughtfulness, jumping up and laying down next to him, shuffling under the console. "What are you doing?"

"Fixing stuff."

"No, you're worried. Why's that?"

"I can't hear you."

"Course you… oh."

"Are your blocks up?"

"No," I hastily answered, feeling guilty for lying to him. I wanted to open up but I couldn't bring myself to, the fear of reliving the past fully in my mind. "I lowered them."

"Then why can't I hear you? There's the buzz that's there but that's it."

"I-I don't know."

"I think you do."

"I don't."

"Rys, please."

I sighed, not really wanting to tell him that the connection had been severed by Rassilon. It would kill him and I couldn't live with the guilt of knowing how upset he'd be. "I can't."

"You think I'll be angry."

"Yes."

"Is this why you won't move in?"

"Yes."

"Rys, you're my ame soeur."

"Stop. Don't say that."

"It's a universally known fact. You're my wife."

"Doctor, please just stop."

"Why can't you just accept that I'm here for you? After all we've been through together; the war, the separation, Kie-"

"Theta! Shut up!" I screamed, glad that Martha's room was so far away. I didn't want her to hear this. I didn't want her to know. Tears streamed down my cheeks. "I'm not that anymore. The connection… Rassilon severed it."

"What?"

"It was to weaken me, to make me do what he wanted."

"So what you said after our visit to New New York…"

"It was in relation to that."

"What did they do to you?"

"Numbed my senses. Severing the connection though, it was the last thing their final action, the one thing they knew would break me."

"What did they do?"

"Doctor-"

"Ceryssida, please tell me."

"We're meant for one person entirely, our minds, our bodies, our souls. They did things I can't even tell you about. They violated me in in every aspect of the word. They murdered that part of me, the part that was connected to you. I can't get it back. Yes, rightfully I might be your wife but at this point, I don't know if I'm that anymore… if I'm your ame soeur."

"Of course you are. You always will be. I don't think that part of you is dead," he rationalized as he faced me, placing a hand on my cheek.

"How can you say that? After what they did?"

"Because they are gone. If Gallifrey were still here, I would have returned and destroyed everyone who took part in it but I can't. I'm just happy you're alive." I nodded and rested my head on his chest. " You know, I still felt you. They had blocked our connections but I felt you. The one thing Rassilon could never do is alter the soul and that's where you were."

"I-I couldn't feel anything. They told me you were dead!"

"Not me."

"Theta…" I trailed off, turning into him, pushing myself closer to him. I didn't want there to be any space between us.

"I know, Rys. I know."

"Why can't I hear you though? I should have felt it when Lilith stopped your heart."

"We'll figure it out. Maybe it's you. After all those years in captivity, you had to make yourself stronger. You might have gotten to the point where you don't even realize you have your shields up." I nodded and shuffled from under the console, standing shortly after. He followed, picked up the forgotten cupcake, and handed it to me. I forced a small smile before I began to walk away, not really knowing where I was going. "Rys?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you mind company tonight?"

"No, I don't think I would." He smiled and joined me, taking my hand in his as we walked to the kitchen and then to my room.

* * *

_Yay so first Martha episode completed. In all honesty, I was going to post yesterday but as usual, I got distracted by Netflix... bad Netflix. And there was a behemoth of a wasp in my room. It was literally this big - l l (fingerwise). I ran like a little baby to my dad and he didn't believe me (because it was behind my window blinds) until after my kitten went in the room and stared at it. It was the same wasp that stung him too! I don't even know how it got back into the house but I was paranoid for hours after my dad killed it. It was so friggen horrible! But anyways, before I forget... and my distraction is continued, I'm posting this now. Thanks for the reads, follows, and reviews on the story. I definitely appreciate it. With that said, onto the reviews. Oh, and I have a question... What's something you absolutely love so far about the new DW season?_

_**I'm-a-Klaus-addict:** Definitely and there will be a lot more to come ;) To answer your question, the way I have it sorted in my head is that after the Doctor leaves her in the room and she's committing the act, the Doctor is sorting out Donna's situation. While I had attempted to write where Cerys (well, now Rys) was there, I hated how it turned out and it seemed kind of rushed. The same applies with Smith and Jones. She was asleep during that time, completely missing the unfortunate kiss between him and Martha that could have been averted. With Donna, however, I also kind of wanted the pair to meet up again during Partners in Crime so that Rys' jealousy could come out a bit. She'd be completely confused as to how they know each other and for her to be very put off by their interaction for a while, until she realises that Donna wants nothing to do with him. Family of Blood is going to be A LOT of fluff and fun. You won't be disappointed, hopefully haha. Yeah, my hair most likely isn't going to happen unless I find a new job... although I was thinking of using temporary dye or semi-permanent. If anything I just might say F it and put my hair in a bun for work lolz. My favourite companion is a tie between Donna and Rory. I loved Rose and Amy but the formers are fighting for the top spot in my book. Donna is all sass and 'I'm not taking the Doctor's crap' while Rory, is somewhat the same but he has more of a quiet strength to him and isn't the wet blanket most think he is and as he travels with the Doctor, he grows more as a man and person. I honestly don't mind Clara at all. She's getting up on my list but I doubt she'll top those four. _

_**NicoleR85:** Your request has been granted :)_

_**Squidtastik:**Glad that you're enjoying the story. So far, I'd have to say the Robot of Sherwood is my definite favourite. Like Clara, I love the story of Robin Hood. It was great to see that they were able to bring life to him, something I was a bit worried about. One thing that I am thoroughly enjoying so far, apart from the episodes, is the dynamic between Clara and the Doctor. It's great and to quote her in Into the Dalek, she's his "carer". It basically sums up their relationship, which is something I love. While the romance is great, I am loving that this season, the only real romance is between Danny and Clara, something I'm definitely more interested in. _


	40. Gridlock

"Just one trip. That's what I said- one trip in the Tardis, and then home. Although… I suppose we could… stretch the definition. Say one trip into past, one trip into future- how do you fancy that?" the Doctor asked Martha as I sat in the captain's chair, watching. After the events of the previous night, if it could even be called night, I had been in a bit of a funk. I tried not to take it out on Martha but had slipped a few times and it did nothing to help our already fragile relationship. The Doctor, on the other hand, was much more understanding, especially the times I had snapped at him this morning. He knew the exact reason I was upset and after years together, he knew how to handle my fits of irritation.

She laughed happily, "no complaints from me."

"How about a different planet?"

"Can we go to yours?"

My eyes snapped to the Doctor, waiting for his response. "Ah, there's plenty of other places."

"Come on, though. I mean, planet of the Time Lords- that's got to be worth a look. What's it like?"

"It's beautiful, yeah."

"Is it like, you know, outerspace cities, all spires and stuff?"

"Suppose it is."

"Great big temples and cathedrals!"

"Yeah."

"Lots of planets in the sky?"

"The skies are burnt orange, with the Citadel enclosed in a mighty glass dome, shining under the twin suns. Beyond that, the mountains go on forever- slopes of deep red grass, capped with snow."

"The times we shared, hmm?" I gave a soft smile, thinking about all he and I had done before the war, together and with Kiere. He nodded, donning one himself.

"Can we go there?"

"Nah! Where's the fun for us? I don't want to go home. Instead… this is much better. Year five billion and fifty-three, planet New Earth. Second hope of mankind. Fifty thousand light years from your old world, and we're slap-bang in the middle of New New York." He threw on his coat and ran to the door. "Although, technically it's the fifteenth New York from the original, so it's New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York." He opened the door and let Martha walk out. "One of the most dazzling cities ever built."

"Oh! Oh, that's nice! Time Lord version of dazzling," Martha cried as she walked out of the Tardis and into an alleyway. Low and behold, it's raining. I grumbled to myself but exited as well, knowing Martha's and my hair was ruined.

"Nah, bit of rain never hurt anyone. Come on, let's get under cover!" he replied as he locked the Tardis door and took my hand, leading us out of the alley.

"Well, it looks like the same old Earth to me… on a Wednesday afternoon," the woman stated as we found cover.

"Hold on, hold on" Finding a green door, the Doctor moved towards it. "Let's have a look." He soniced a monitor. When nothing came up, he banged on it for a bit. Not a moment later, the screen began to work and a blonde woman was pictured, giving the weather forecast and traffic conditions.

"**And the driving should be clear and easy, with fifteen extra lanes open for the New New Jersey expressway.**" The picture shifted from the blonde to Manhattan, the way I remember it from our last visit.

"Oh, that's more like it. That's the view we had last time. This must be the lower levels. Down in the base of the tower, some sort of under-city."

"You've brought me to the slums?"

"Much more interesting! It's all cocktails and glitter up there. This is the real city."

"You'd enjoy anything."

"Not really. Most things. Great, rain's stopping."

"When you day 'last time', was that you and Rose?"

"Yeah, it was. Cerys too although she was quite cross at the time."

"I was not! Rose was and I was giving you and her space. It was what seemed best."

"That wasn't what I wanted and you knew that." I sighed and leaned my head against his shoulder. Yeah, I had known that but I was ashamed of what I had said, how I had reacted about it all. I had pushed him away, feeling I was inferior, that he would be better off with Rose, someone stable, or more stable than I was at the time.

"You're taking me to the same planets that you took her?" Martha asked quietly, catching on to what the Doctor had said.

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing. Just ever heard of the word _rebound_?" I rolled my eyes as she stalked off, before really thinking about it. In a way, she was the rebound companion. A part of me felt bad that she was, considering she was a great person to have around but the part that missed Rose, didn't care. I could understand why he'd bring her here though… it was a way of reliving the past after everything had changed. Yet, I didn't want either of us to live in the past. It hurt too much.

A hatch opened and a man appeared. "Oh! You should have said. How long you been there? Happy. You want Happy." The man bent down in his cart. "Happy happy."

Two more people appeared. "Customers. Customers! We've got customers!" the darker of the women said.

"We're in business. Mother, open up the Mellow, not the Rage."

"Happy, happy, lovely happy happy!"

"Anger. Buy some Anger!"

"Just Mellow, makes you feel all bendy and soft all day long."

"Don't go to them. They'll rip you off. Do you want some happy?"

"No, thanks," the Doctor deadpanned.

"Are they selling drugs?"

I shook my head, answering her, "moods."

"Same thing, isn't it?"

Soon a young woman dressed in rags walked over. "Over here, sweetheart! That's it, come on, I'll get you first!"

"Oi! Oi, you! Over here! Buy some happy!"

"Come over here, yeah. And what can I get you, my love?" the second woman asked a girl no older than twenty.

"I want to buy forget."

"I've got Forget, my darling. What strength? How much do you want forgetting?"

"It's my mother and father. They went on the motorway."

"Oh, that's a swine. Try this. Forget Forty three. That's two credits."

Before the girl could put it on, we approached her. "Sorry, but- hold on a minute. What happened to your parents?"

"They drove off."

"But they'll come back," I stated, trying to make sense of the situation.

"Everyone goes to the motorway in the end. I've lost them."

"But they can't have gone far. You could find them. No. No, no, don't."

The woman placed the Forget 43 on her neck, her expression instantly changing from sombre to serene. "I'm sorry. What were you saying?"

"Your parents. Your mother and father- they're on the motorway."

"Are they? That's nice. I'm sorry, I won't keep you." With that, she walked away.

"So that's the human race five billion years in the future. Off their heads on chemicals." As Martha said that, I felt hands grab me, pulling me back.

"Get off me." I watched Martha and the Doctor turn, the Doctor's face quickly changing to fear as they pulled me further away. I struggled when he reached out, only to be met with the barrel of a gun.

"I'm sorry, I'm really, really sorry. We just need three, that's all."

"No, let her go! I'm warning you- let her go! Whatever you want, I can help. The three of us, we can help. But first you've got to let her go!"

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry," the woman cried as she follows the man.

"Say sorry one more time and I'll shove that gun so far up your-"

"Sorry," he repeated, pulling me through the door that the woman shut after repeating her apology. With a look to each other, the man began to push me forward, forcing me to run.

"Never mind him killing you, I'll do it my damn self!" The man forced me to a car, holding onto me as I struggled some more. "Let me go! That man is my husband and a major problem for you. Now, get off me!"

"Give her some Sleep," the man said, holding me at an angle the my neck was exposed.

"Don't you even think- don't put that on me! Get the hell off!"

"It's just Sleep Fourteen," the woman cried as she placed it on my neck. "No, baby, don't fight it."

"If you value your life, let me out." I groaned as I began to feel the effects of the patch. Soon it was darkness.

I awoke fifteen minutes later, angrier than I was before. Swiftly, I ripped the patch off and threw it to the floor. My kidnappers were speaking to each other and hadn't noticed I'd come to. I spotted their gun but left it, not feeling the need for it, especially since it wasn't real. Instead, I stared at the back of their heads, frustrated by the lack of the connection the Doctor and I should have. "I'm guessing we can't go back," I assessed looking out the window and seeing a sea of cars and smog.

"We're on the motorway."

"That's obvious from the exhaust fumes. Too many cars down here. Where are you taking me?"

"We're going out to Brooklyn. Everyone says the air's so much cleaner, and we couldn't stay in Pharmacy Town, 'cause-" he placed a hand on the woman's knee.

"Well, 'cause of me. I'm pregnant. We only discovered it last week. Scan says it's going to be a boy."

"Did you want a congratulations? You kidnapped me."

"We're not kidnappers. Not really."

"You're right. You're idiots," I snapped to her.

"We needed a third person."

"What for?"

"The fast lane. You need three for it."

"Isn't the fast lane supposed to be, I don't know, fast?"

"This'll be as fast as we can. We'll take the motorway to the Brooklyn flyover, and then after that it's going to take a while, because then there's no fast lane, just ordinary roads, but at least it's direct."

"It's only ten miles."

"And how long's it going to take?"

"About six years."

"Excuse me."

"Be just in time for him to start school." The pair laughed.

"Ten miles in six years? You're daft if you think I'm staying in this damn car for six fucking years."

"We'll drop you off when we reach."

"It won't be six years. That man you saw me with, was my husband. He won't just sit around and wait six years. If I know him as well as I do, he's already come looking. The idiot's probably inhaling the fumes, trying his best to find me," I mused, quieting down as I thought of him. He was the biggest clod I'd known but he was always _extremely_ over protective of me. Growing up with him hadn't been bad. He was always able to get me to smile after a bout of bullying, something I dealt with daily. Our parents seemed to have known we'd end up together, always hinting how cute we were and how we never had eyes for another, which was true. He was often pursued by other Time Ladies, those who admired his brains than his appearance, not that he was bad looking. To me, he was always him, no matter what incarnation, I was always happy to be by his side, even when others flirted with him and depending on his incarnation, he'd either playfully flirt or stammer, his cheeks flushing red with embarrassment. This him, was all swagger, nothing like his first incarnation, not that I minded… much.

I was jolted from my thoughts by the car moving. Looking up, I saw the layers upon layers of cars. It didn't make much sense to me. If this was New New York, the one I'd visited with Rose and the Doctor, then why were there people trapped down here? There was something else going on and that made me a bit uneasy. I didn't want to be separated from the Doctor if there was someone pulling strings, especially if that person had the technology to identify me, something that has yet to happen, but was still a possibility. "How many cars are down here?"

"I don't think anyone knows. Here we go. Hungry?" the woman asked, holding up a bag of crackers. I shook my head. "All right. I'm Cheen and he's Milo, by the way."

"How far is the fast lane?"

"Oh, it's right at the bottom, underneath the traffic jam. But not many people can afford three passengers, so it's empty down there. Rumour has it you can reach up to thirty miles per hour."

"Wow, that's amazing," I muttered sarcastically. "Wait, you said food. There's no market around unless some poor bloke is daft enough to set up shop in this place. How do you get food, or keep going at that? Stuck in this cramped space, barely any movement and all?"

"Oh, we stocked up. Got self-replicating fuel, muscle stimulants for exercise, and there's a chemical toilet at the back. And all waste products are recycled as food."

"Right."

"Oh, another gap. This is brilliant."

"**Car sign in.**"

"Car Four Six Five Diamond Six, on descent to fast lane, thank you very much."

"**Please drive safely,**" the computer said as Milo manoeuvred the car downwards.

"See? Another ten layers to go. We're scorching." There was a growl in distance that seemed to get closer as the vehicle went lower.

"We probably shouldn't go down there."

"We're heading to the fast lane."

There were more growls. "That was not a friendly noise, Milo."

"It's that noise, doesn't it? It's like Kate said, the stories- they're true."

"Stories?"

"It's the sound of the air vents. That's all. The exhaust fumes travel down, so at the base of the tunnel they've got air vents."

"Yet there seems to be nothing aerating the place. If they were going into vents, there wouldn't be this much fumes."

"No, but the stories are much better. They say people go missing on the motorway. Some cars just vanish, never to be seen again. 'Cause there's something_ living _down there, in the smoke- something huge… and hungry. And if you get lost on the road, it's waiting for you."

There was more growling and hissing. "But like I said, air vents. Going down to the next layer."

"Right, because they're working," I sassed.

"Doesn't look like it," Cheen said.

Grumbling came from below us. "What's that, then?"

"Nah. Kid stuff," Milo said, dismissing the thought it could be anything else. "Car four six five diamond six, on descent."

* * *

_27/9/2014_

_Hey all! So what did you think of The Caretaker? I honestly loved it. Danny and the Doctor together are amazing. I totally hated that she just called him an alien since the Doctor is so much more than that. Hell, she could have said he was her best friend or something, that totally would have explained her not loving him the way she does Danny. And the fact that she basically confessed her love because of the Doctor. It was an overall enjoyable and humorous episode. I really want Danny to start travelling with them. Yet, one thing that irritated me a bit was the end where Clara and Danny were cuddling on the couch and how he basically said that if she was didn't tell him if she was pushed too far or whatever they were over. My take on that is basically, she knows the Doctor hell of a lot longer than she has Danny. She isn't afraid to tell the Time Lord what's on her mind and when he's wrong about certain things. I highly doubt she'd let him push her to that point, hell, although the Doctor probably won't admit it, he cares A LOT about Clara. Sorry for my rant. I needed to get it off my chest. _

_Anyways, to the story. We see an angry Rys, a murderous Rys, and an irritated Rys. She definitely wasn't a happy camper in this chapter. I basically wanted her to be taken as opposed to Martha because I feel that enough bad stuff is going to happen to her in the long run, i.e The Sound of Drums and The Last of the Time Lords. I think my favourite part of this episode was the congratulations line. While I know Martha was supposed to say it, I really wanted Rys to do so. I also wanted to show just how much she knows her idiot which is why I added the bit about him inhaling the fumes. Gotta love 'em. Anyways, as always, thanks for the follows, reads, and reviews. _

_**Squidtastik**: So glad you enjoyed the chapter. _

_**dream lighting**: Your request has been noted and thanks for the welcome back. Donna will definitely help Rys when she comes along. They'll practically be best friends. _

_**NicoleR85**: Those episodes will definitely be interesting. As for Martha's relationship with the Doctor and Rys, she won't really know the nature of their relationship for a while. She knows they're together and affectionate but not the status of the relationship. Although, I think the way they act is enough to deter her from pursuing our wonderful Time Lord. But, eh, who knows. _

_**I'm-a-Klaus-addict**: She most definitely does. It's from watching so many women throwing themselves at him both on Gallifrey and as a human. It was definitely the Rinette adventure that mainly did it. And I do... so very much. I really can't wait for Daleks in Manhattan. It's all fluffy in the beginning and there's an insanely adorable Terys moment ;) Ooh, the Impossible Pink to go with the Impossible Girl. It's perfect. You definitely have to get around to watching Deep Breath. It was such a wonderful introduction to Capaldi as the Doctor. I'll PM you a link so you can check it out, if you already haven't._


	41. Macra

We sat in silence for a while, each of us seemingly in our own world. Moments later, the same blonde woman came onto the monitor, telling the forecast and apologising. As she vanished, a song rang through the air and was soon over taken by the people in each car so it seemed. Cheen and Milo joined in, their expressions solemn as they did. I stood there, watching them, not truly understanding the point. That was a lie, I did understand, it gave them hope, I suppose. Yet, that did nothing if they could get outside and by the apology given to them, they were trapped down there. When the singing had ceased, a voice rang over the comms. **"Fast lane access. Please drive safely."**

"We made it. The fast lane."

"And it's deserted, well somewhat. There are no cars down here."

Milo scoffed and continued to drive until we neared an exit. Tapping the monitor for Exit 1, he let out a frustrated groan.

"Try again," Cheen told him. Listening, he tapped the screen.

**"Brooklyn turnoff one, closed."**

"Try the next one."

**"Brooklyn turnoff two, closed."**

"They're all closed Milo. You never should have tried the fast lane."

"Oh! What do we do?"

"We'll keep going 'round. We'll do the whole loop, and by the time we come back 'round, they'll be open."

There was another growl, much closer this time. I tensed, not sure what to expect. "Still think it's the air vents?" As I finished the question, there was the sound of thumping nearby.

"What else could it be?"

The car shook as it jolted again, a menacing snarl ripping through the air. "What the hell was that?"

"It's just… the hydraulics," Milo said, trying to calm Cheen down. Yet even as he said it, he was uncertain of his answer.

"No. Whatever it is, it's alive."

"It's all exhaust fumes out there. Nothing could breathe in that."

"You'd be surprised," I muttered before the comm. came to life.

"Calling Car four six five diamond six. Repeat- calling Car four six five diamond six."

Milo picked up the microphone. "This is Car four six five diamond six. Who's that? Where are you?"

"I'm in the fast lane, about fifty yards behind. Can you get back up? Can you get off the fast lane?"

"We only have permission to go down. We- we need the Brooklyn Flyover," he replied as something hit the car.

"It's closed. Go back up."

"We can't. We'll just go 'round."

"Don't you understand? They're closed! They're always closed!" As that came through, Cheen placed her hands over her mouth, holding in a gasp. "We're stuck down here, and there's something else is out there in the fog- can't you hear it?" There was another roar.

"That's the air vents."

"Jehovah! What are you, some stupid kid? Get out of here!"

"He is. Won't listen to reason, this one," I told the girl before there was a big thump and a cacophony of growls and shrieks.

"What was that?"

"I can't move! They've got us!"

"But what's happening?"

"What is it? What has you?"

"Hang on, girls. It's here. Just drive, you idiots! Get out of here!" The woman screeched before the line went dead.

"Can you hear me? Hello?"

"Will you shut up and drive!"

"But where?"

"Straight."

Cheen began to sob, much to my annoyance. "What is it? What's out there? What is it?"

"It doesn't matter. Right now, we have to get out of here." I told her as Milo sped off. As he drove, the car violently jerked more as it was struck by whatever was around it.

"Go faster!"

"I'm at top speed!" I cursed under my breath, wishing I had asked the Tardis to make me a sonic screwdriver. It would have come in handy. But thinking about it now, those creatures, how could they know where we were? It had to be something telling them, something to do with the car.

Milo repeatedly pressed the monitor, trying to get permission to get off the fast lane. **"No access above."**

"But this is an emergency!" Milo cried before calling the police.

**"Thank you for your call. You have been placed on hold."**

"Turn the car off."

"You've got to be joking."

"Then you explain how whatever's out there can see us in the fumes. It's the car telling them where we are. They probably won't be able to see locate us if we turn it off."

"What if you're wrong?"

"Don't know. We'll figure out when we hit that bridge," I snapped. "Now turn it off!"

Milo did as I said and the car went dark. As I figured, the growling faded away until there was no more noise from the outside. Whatever it was, it was the car attracting its attention.

"They've stopped," Cheen breathed.

"Yeah, but they're still out there."

"How did you think of that?"

"I'm clever."

"Well then, you'd better think of something else, because we've lost the aircon. If we don't switch the engines back on, we won't be able to breathe."

"How long have you got?"

"Eight minutes, maximum."

Sitting there in silence, well mostly silence due to Cheen's sobbing, I tried to think of every creature that used gas for food. While I managed to come up with a few, none of them seemed to fit. I let out an irritated huff, wishing the Doctor were around. He would probably know what we were dealing with. Grumbling to myself, I shook my head. No, I didn't need him around to figure things out. I was perfectly capable of doing so. Sighing, I cleared my mind and started to go through my list again. '_Macra.'_ I jumped, eyes wide, not knowing how I'd known that. I barely remembered those creatures, having just about forgotten them completely. Then it dawned on me that hadn't been my thought, a smile formed on my lips before it fell, me realising the gravity of the situation. If it were Macra down here, that meant we were in more danger than I had thought.

"How much air's left?"

"Two minutes."

"We'll be fine. He'll think of something."

"No one's coming."

"He looked kind of nice."

"He is but that's not all there is."

"You and him are married, right?"

"Yeah, but it's more than a marriage. Imaging having that one person who truly completes you in every way possible, who knows everything about you and never judges, no matter how bad the information is, who loves you unconditionally, even if you aren't the most stable person… that's what it is for him and me."

"I know how you feel," Cheen smiled, glancing at Milo. "I never even asked- where's home?"

"With him."

"So, er, who is he, then, this Doctor?"

"He's everything to me. I've known him my entire life and that man is the most loving and compassionate person I've ever known, well, unless he's angry. That's when you have to watch out, especially if I'm in danger."

"Will he hurt us?" Cheen questioned, a tremor in her voice.

"No, not at all. Just get me back to him, yeah?"

"What about you?"

"I won't. Trust me, he'll get us out of here. He'll save us. You have your faith and I have him."

"Right," Milo said as he turned the car back on.

**"Systems back online."**

Taking Cheen's hand, he turned to me, "good luck."

"Yeah," I said as we took off. As we drove, the Macra surrounding us attacked, most likely doing the best it could to ensnare the vehicle. Luckily, Milo manoeuvred the car skilfully enough so that we weren't caught, just tossed around a bit. The more Milo drove, the more the Macra seemed to attack, violently each time. I had long been tossed towards the back of the car and after much effort, gave up on trying to reach the front again. All went to hell when the car was caught. As the claw clamped down, the console parked and smoke began to rise up. CHeen had begun screaming much to my dismay but after being violently shaken about, Milo had finally been able to slip out of the grip the Macra had on the vehicle, beginning the intricate dance again. Suddenly the monitor flashed to the Doctor and Martha. He looked calm but I could see just how terrified he was. His eyes said it all, at least to me.

"Oi! Car four six five diamond six. Cerys! Drive up!"

"That's him," I happily exclaimed as I forced myself to the front of the car. I was so thrilled to see his face and that he had figured out a way of freeing everyone.

"We can't go up! We'll hit the layer!"

"Milo, go up. Trust me, he's taken care of it."

"You've got access above! Now go!" Milo nodded and began to manoeuvre the car up and away from the Macra.

"It's daylight. Oh my God, that's the sky, the real sky."

"My idiot," I whispered fondly as we reached the top. Giving the couple with me a bit of privacy as they kissed.

"Car four six five diamond six, I've sent you a flight path. Come to the Senate."

"Alright."

"It's quite a while since I saw you, Cerys."

"Yeah, you'll be snogging me soon enough," I joked as the car headed for the Senate, knowing very well that's exactly what would happen.

Reaching, I jumped out and ran inside, passing the bodies and going where I knew he'd be; where I felt him. Immediately spotting him, I pumped my legs faster and jumped into his awaiting arms, smiling as I felt them close around me. After a minute or so, he let me down and we walked over to the Face of Boe. His tank had broken and he was lying on the floor. I rushed to his side, placing a hand on him. "Hello, old friend."

"You know him?"

"Of course I do. I never forget a face," I told Martha before returning my attention to Boe. "You know, legend says the Face of Boe has lived for billions of years. Isn't that right? And you're not about to give up now." I looked into his eyes, trying to keep my tears at bay. "You can't."

"Everything has its time. You know that, old friend, better than most." I shook my head. I didn't want him to go. Since the first time I'd met him, I had felt he was familiar, and after a while, I finally realised why. There was so much I wanted to speak to him about, so much that needed to be said. Even with the Tardis, I couldn't help but feel I might never get that moment.

"The legend says more."

"Don't. There's no need for that."

"It says that the Face of Boe will speak his final secret to two travellers."

"Yeah, but not yet. Who needs secrets, eh?"

"I have seen so much… perhaps too much. I am the last of my kind- as you are the last of yours, Doctor and Cerys."

"That's why we have to survive. The three of us. Don't go."

"Please… stay," I whispered, hearing my voice crack as I did so.

"I must. But know this, Time Lords- You are not alone." With that, the Face of Boe took a final ragged breath and closed his eyes. I felt tears sting my eyes at the loss of him while Novice Hame wept openly.

After giving me a few more minutes, the Doctor helped me up and the three of us returned to Pharmacy Town, where all the shops had closed down. "All closed down."

"Happy?"

"Happy happy." Martha chuckled while I stared on, my mind on the Face of Boe. "New New York can start again. And they got Novice Hame. Just what every city needs- cats in charge. Come on, time we were off."

"But what did he mean, the Face of Boe- 'You're not alone.'"

"I'm not alone. I have Cerys."

"Be he said the both of you."

Snapping from my daze, I glanced at her. "I don't know what he meant but the Doctor and I have each other. That's all that matters."

"You've got me. Is that what he meant?"

"I don't think so. Sorry."

"Then what?"

"Doesn't matter. Back to the Tardis. Off we go." He began to pull me to the Tardis but I stopped when I heard a soft clink. Turning around, I saw Martha sitting in a chair, her arms and legs crossed. "All right, you staying?"

"'Till you talk to me properly, yes. He said 'last of your kind.' What does that mean?"

"It really doesn't matter."

"You don't talk. You never say! Why not?"

"_Fast falls the eventide._"

"It's the city."

"_The darkness deepens._"

"They're singing."

"_Lord, with me abide. When other helpers fail-_"

"Doctor, if she's travelling with us, I think she should know. We both know what he meant but she's asking you. She's your companion, whether you want to admit it or not."

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I lied to you… 'cause I liked it. I could pretend. Just for a bit, I could imagine they were still alive, underneath a burnt-orange sky. We're not just Time Lords. We're the last of the Time Lords." I carefully studied Martha's expression, watching as it went from shock to sadness. "The Face of Boe was wrong- there's no one else."

"What happened?"

The Doctor kept his gaze on her for a moment before grabbing another discarded chair. Placing it in front of her, he sat down. Sighing, I walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him my support. "There was a war… a Time War. The last Great Time War. Our people fought a race called the Daleks, for the sake of all creation. And they lost. We lost. Everyone lost. They're all gone now. My family… my friends… even that sky."

"I'm still here. Always will be."

He reached a hand up and placed it over mine. "I know."

"Martha, you would have loved it. Home."

"The second sun would rise in the south, and the mountains would shine."

"And the leaves were silver. Every morning, when they caught the light, it looked like a forest on fire. And when the autumn came, the breeze would blow through the branches… like a song. It was beautiful. I spent most of my time out there. Waking up early enough to see it all. I miss it, so much, but they are gone. The Doctor and I are the only ones."

"_The darkness deepens. Lord, with me abide._" Sighing, I walked into the Tardis and went to sit in the jump seat while I waited for the two to join me.

I sat in the kitchen, flipping through a cooking magazine, bored out of my mind. Although I wanted to go to the library, for some reason, I found myself in the kitchen. I barely went there since Rose had been trapped in the parallel world and it had me thinking of the times we shared, both good and bad. I'd much preferred to have Castawasy of the Flying Dutchman with me, to distract me from my thoughts but all I had was a pile of cookbooks lying on the table. As I flipped through, not really reading the pages, I heard someone enter the kitchen. "What are you doing in here? I figured you'd be in the library."

"Wanted a bit of a change."

"What is it? What's bothering you?"

I glanced up at him. "Are you alright?"

"What do you mean?"

"You inhaled the exhaust fumes. Did you expel it?"

"Yes, I did." I nodded, looking at the book cover. "What's really bothering you?"

"I don't know. When I was taken, I could have sworn I _heard_ you." He raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to elaborate. "I had forgotten about the Macra and all of a sudden, I hear a voice, more importantly, YOUR voice, in my mind telling me what they are… what we were dealing with."

"That's great though."

"I suppose but I wasn't even trying to connect. All I wanted to do was figure out what was the source of the noises."

"I don't know but we'll figure it out, eh? The connection's been crippled but it's still there. We'll work on it."

"How?"

"Next time it happens, try to connect. My mind's always open to you." I nodded, giving a slight smile. I wanted to connect with his mind, to have that connection back. Even with the slight buzz that told me that he was there, it was nothing compared to what we had; I felt empty. On Gallifrey, he kept most of his thoughts to himself, not wanting me to hear them. I had been so fragile then, any thought of his would set me off, sending me into a fit of anger that made me a danger to everyone, including him and my little Kiere. But I was different. I was stronger, no longer caring as to what anyone but Doctor had to say. I wanted to hear his thoughts, to communicate with him. That connection was an essential key to our relationship, to us being Ame Soeurs. It strengthened what we already had, helped us gain a deeper understanding of the other. He was a different man, as I was a different woman, but underneath, we were still, in some ways, the same person as our first incarnations and we knew each other better than anyone else. "Rys?"

"Hmm."

"What are you thinking about?"

"This and that."

"Like?"

"Different things. I'll tell you sometime." I stood, holding out my hand to him. After a moment, he took it and allowed me to lead him out of the kitchen and into the console room.

* * *

_6/10/2014_

_Yay! So we finally have the conclusion to Gridlock. Was it good enough? (That was seriously my insecurities coming through lolz). Anyways, sorry for the semi-late update. I've been working like crazy and I have four 5 page papers to write, one due each day of the week. . So I've been crazy busy. And I'm still having issues with not letting me upload a new story (a companion story for this one in-between adventures, conversations, happenings, etc.) and it's highly irritating since I have written majority of it out and want to start posting but until it's sorted, it won't be up. And yes, I've e-mailed support. I still haven't gotten a response though so fat lot of good that was. :/_

_Anyways, what did you think of Kill the Moon. I've read a ton of people's opinions on the episode, both bad and good, and I can totally see the arguments for each side. I think my favourite part of the episode was Clara in the end. She has always seen the Doctor as a hero and that episode was when she kind of saw him as he was, as his new regeneration. It was a total eye-opener for her. The Doctor leaving, I think, was, while slightly harsh, was a good thing. Looking at it from a woman's perspective, the moon was an egg and he felt that it wasn't his choice to do anything, but the three women's decision. But I definitely feel as though he was being a patronising prick. The saddest part for me was when Clara made the broadcast and all of Earth turned off their lights. It killed me because it was literally showing humans for what they were. It was like there was no hesitation and they wanted to kill a baby! It was definitely something I could see happening in the real world. Anything that isn't understood is ultimately persecuted anyways. But enough of what I think. Thanks for the follows and reviews. I appreciate them. _

_Squidtastik: Same here. I definitely feel that from the previous episode, they'll definitely stay together but with time being a big ball of wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff, it could change and there will be no baby Clara or Danny. _

_NicoleR85: As I said up there, I have written it out but FF isn't letting me create a new story. Hopefully when it is all straightened out, you'll find out. He will most definitely be a lot darker. I slightly added a bit of Twelve into the mix so when I do come around to posting the new season, it'll come together a lot more. _

_I'm-a-Klaus-addict: Thanks. Hopefully, since it's been a few days, you got your sleep. But yep, I will be doing the 50th. Rys will be in it as well. There will also be a few surprises thrown in too ;)_


	42. Daleks in Manhattan

Sitting in the captain's chair, watching the Doctor pilot the Tardis, I couldn't help but smile. He looked so happy running around the console, thoroughly excited. I had offered to help him pilot a the adventure prior but the man said he didn't need much help, not that I believed him. He was mad and the ride was insanely turbulent, like every other time but it was how he loved it and I was happy when he was. Landing, I was thrown out of my seat, Martha grasped the railing for dear life and the Doctor clung to the console. Getting up, I grumbled, hitting him on the arm before I strode out of the Tardis, leaving the two to follow me. I looked around, smiling as I saw the Statue of Liberty. I'd always wanted to visit New York, the real one, not the new, new one. My smile grew bigger when I realised that we were in the 1920s, late 20s specifically. I had a certain appreciation and respect for those who lived during the 1920s and 30s; the difficulties they'd faced with everything going on and still surviving. Martha and the Doctor soon stepped out of the Tardis, Martha in awe and the Doctor with a smile. "Where are we?"

"Ah, smell that Atlantic breeze!" He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my head. "Nice and cold, lovely. Martha, have you met my friend?" he asked, turning us around to face her as I rolled my eyes but smiled. His enthusiasm was contagious.

"Is that…? Oh, my God. That's the Statue of Liberty."

"Gateway to the New World. Give me your tired, your poor…"

"Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free," I finished, receiving a kiss on the temple.

"That's so brilliant. I've always wanted to go to New York. I mean, the real New York, not the new new new new new new one."

I smiled at her as we began to walk towards the edge of the island. "Well, there's the genuine article. So good, they named it twice. Mind you, it was New Amsterdam, originally. Harder to say twice- no wonder it didn't catch on. New Amsterdam, New Amsterdam."

"Wonder what year it is, 'cause look-" she pointing into the distance, "the Empire State Building's not even finished yet."

"Work in progress. Still got a couple floors to go, and if I know my history, that makes the date somewhere around…"

"November first 1930," Martha said, a copy of the New York Record in her hand.

"You're getting good at this." I smiled and glanced over reading the headline. Gently taking it from her hands, I showed it to the Doctor who, in turn, took it from me.

"That's nearly eighty years ago. It's funny, 'cause you see all those old newsreels, all in black and white, like it's so far away. But here we are. It's real. It's now!" She laughed. "Come on, you. Where do you want to go first?"

"I think our detour just got longer," he said, motioning to the newspaper cover.

"'Hooverville Mystery Deepens.' What's Hooverville?"

After making our way over the river, we ended up in Central Park. As we walked through, I couldn't help but giggle like a young girl as I took in the beautiful surroundings. Excited, I took off ahead of the two, running around in pure elation. Behind me, I could hear the Doctor and Martha laughing at me. I turned and stuck my tongue out at them before running up to the Doctor and slapping his arm, winking as I ran away. Almost immediately, he took off after me.

As I ran through the trees, I saw Martha watching us, an amused expression on her face as she sat on a bench. Removing my gaze from her, I turned to see the Doctor quickly gaining on me. Letting out another giggle, I took off into a maze of trees, trying to evade him as stealthily as possible, which didn't happen. As I hid behind a tree, I didn't notice him sneaking up behind me until his arms were around me waist. "I win," he muttered, his breath tickling my ear. I turned and faced him, a sultry smile on my lips. Without saying a word, I grabbed the lapels of his coat and pulled him closer, his lips meeting mine without hesitation. After a great snog session, I pushed him away, giving him a quick peck as he pouted. Once we were straightened up, we made our way back to Martha.

Reaching her, she gave us a knowing smile, one that had me laughing and the Doctor stuttering for a bit. Grabbing his hand, I pulled him along the walkway, finally getting him to explain Hooverville to Martha. "Herbert Hoover, thirty first President of the USA, came to power a year ago. Up till then, New York was a boomtown. The Roaring Twenties. And then…"

"The Wall Street Crash, yeah, when was that, 1929?"

"Yep. The entire economy was wiped out overnight. Thousands were left without jobs and that led to homelessness. Most ended up in Central Park."

"What, they actually live in the park, in the middle of the city?"

"Pretty much. Where else would you go? Strength in numbers, no matter how loose those bonds are," I shrugged as we continued on.

As we strolled, we ended up surrounded by those who lived in the park. I couldn't help the pang of sorrow that ran through me. I felt so bad for the people and the fact that nobody cared enough to help them made it worse. It was one of the things I disliked about humans, their dog-eat-dog mentality. As if feeling my discomfort, the Doctor gave my hand a quick squeeze. "Ordinary people- lost their jobs, couldn't pay the rent, and they lost everything."

"There're places all over the country like this. What makes it worse is that they're receiving no help. No one cares about them."

"You only come to Hooverville when there's nowhere else to go." I nodded in agreement before turning to where I heard a bit of ruckus coming from the distance. Being the curious bugger that he was, the Doctor led us over there. "Come on." Reaching the crowd, we watched as two men walk away from a tall black man who radiated authority, and having just finish shaming them from the looks of it. As he walked away, we intercepted him. "I suppose that makes you the boss around here," the Doctor said as we reached him.

"And, uh, who might you be?"

"He's the Doctor. She's Rys. I'm Martha."

"A doctor? Huh. Well… we got stockbrokers, we've got a lawyer, but you're the first doctor. The neighbourhood gets classier by the day," the man said as he warmed his hands over a boiling pot.

"How many people live here?"

"At any one time, hundreds. No place else to go. But I will say this about Hooverville- we are a truly equal society. Black, white- all the same, all starving." He chuckled. "So you're welcome, the three of you. But tell me, Doctor- you're a man of learning, right? Explain this to me. That there's going to be the tallest building in the world." The man pointed at the Empire State Building. "How come they can do that, when we got people starving in the heart of Manhattan?"

"Priorities aren't in the right place," I shrugged, answering his rhetorical question as we walked away. The man moved towards a fire and tossed what looked to be coffee into the flame. "But tell us, is it true that men are disappearing?"

"It's true, all right." He nodded, leading us to his tent. Instead of going in, we stood at the opening. We hadn't been invited and none of us wanted to be rude.

"But what does missing mean? I mean, people must come and go here all the time. It's not like anyone's keeping a register."

"Come on in," the man said, motioning us with the newspaper and removing his hat. Once inside, the Doctor sat by the man while Martha and I sat opposite to them. "This is different."

"In what way?" Martha asked.

"Someone takes them… at night. We hear something. Someone calls out for help. By the time we get there, they're gone, like they vanished into thin air."

"And you're sure someone's taking them?"

"Doctor, when you got next to nothing, you hold on to the little you got- knife, blanket, you take it with you. You don't leave bread uneaten, a fire still burning."

"Have you been to the police?"

"What's the point of that, Martha?"

"She's right. We tried that. Another deadbeat goes missing, big deal."

"So the question is, who's taking them and what for?"

Before anyone could say something else, a Southern accent was heard. "Solomon!" A young man entered the tent. "Solomon, Mister Diagoras is here." We looked at each other before following Solomon out, standing behind him as we approached a man in a black coat, with two men flanking him.

"I need men, volunteers. I've got a little work for you, and you sure look like you can use the money."

"Yeah, what is the money?" the young man questioned.

"A dollar a day." As he said that, the crowd began to scoff.

Solomon stepped forward. "What's the work?"

"A little trip down the sewers." The men continued to groan, some even walking away. "Got a tunnel collapsed needs clearing and fixing. Any takers?"

"A dollar a day? That's slave wage." The surrounding men agreed with Solomon as I stared at the Diagoras bloke, something about him unsettling me. "And men don't always come back up, do they?"

"Accidents happen."

"What do you mean? What sort of 'accidents'?"

"You don't need the work, that's fine. Anybody else?" The Doctor raised his hand. "Enough with the questions."

"Oh, no, no, no, no. I'm volunteering. I'll go."

"Me as well. I go wherever this idiot does."

Martha then raised her hand. "I'll kill you for this." I chuckled, catching him smiling at her words, knowing she wouldn't.

"Anybody else?" Diagoras asked before the young man and Solomon raised their hands as well. When it was sorted, we followed Diagoras to the sewers, going down the manhole and looking up to him, well the others were, I stood against the wall listening and slightly put off at the scurrying and squeaking of rats. We each held a torch and the younger bloke, whose name we learned was Frank, had the rope. "Turn left. Go about a half a mile. Follow tunnel two seven three. Fall's right ahead of you, you can't miss it."

"And when do we get our dollar?"

"When you come back up."

"And if we don't come back up?"

"Then I got no one to pay."

"Don't worry. We'll be back," Solomon said confidently.

"Let's hope so." With that, Martha, Frank, and Solomon walked on. I walked forward, meeting Diagora's eyes for the first time. I grimaced, feeling this was going to end badly and he was one of the reasons. Sighing, I grabbed the Doctor's hand and pulled him towards the others.

"We just got to stick together. It's easy to get lost. It's like a huge rabbit warren. Could hide an army down here."

"So what about you, Frank? You're not from around these parts, are you?"

"Oh, _you_ could talk. No, I'm from Tennessee born and bred." I smiled as I listened to them talk, my hand still in the Doctor's.

"So how come you're here?"

"Oh, my daddy died. Mama… couldn't afford to feed us all. So, I'm the oldest up to me to feed myself. So I put on my coat, hitched up here on the railroads. There's a whole lot of runaways in camp, younger than me, from all over- Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas. Solomon- he keeps a lookout for us. So, what about you? You're a _long_ way from home."

"Yeah, I'm just a hitcher, too."

"You stick with me, you'll be all right."

"So this Diagoras bloke, who is he, then?"

"A couple of months ago, he was just another foreman. Now, seems like he's running most of Manhattan."

"How'd he manage that, then?"

"These are strange times. A man can go from being King of the Hill to the lowest of the low overnight. Guess for some folks, it works the other way around." I nodded before I stopped, seeing a luminous green blob on the ground. Our hands were still intertwined so he felt the jerk of my sudden stop. He looked at me for a moment before following my gaze.

"Whoa!"

"Is it radioactive or something? It's gone off, whatever it is," Martha gagged as we both walked to it, the Doctor placing down his torch and crouching, picking it up. "And you've _got_ to pick it up." As he did, the light died. I grimaced as he brought it to his nose, smelling it.

"It's either that or tasting things that shouldn't be near his mouth."

"Shine your torch through it," he said, ignoring what I had said. Martha did as he asked. "Composite organic matter. Martha, medical opinion?"

"It's not human. I know that."

"No. It's not. And I'll tell you something else," he said, getting to his feet. "We must be at least a half mile in. I don't see any signs of a collapse. Do you Cerys?" I shook my head. "So why did Mister Diagoras send up down here?"

"Where are we now? What's up above us?"

"We're directly under Manhattan," I answered, sighing as we continued to walk on.

"We're way beyond half a mile. There's no collapse, nothing."

"That Diagoras bloke, was he lying?"

"Looks like it."

"So why'd he want people to come down here?"

"Solomon, I think it's time you took these two back. We'll be much quicker on our own." A squeal echoed through the tunnel. I jumped slightly, the noise catching me off guard as it was so unexpected.

"What the hell was that?"

"Hello!"

"Frank."

"Shh!"

"What if it's one of the folk gone missing? You'd be scared and half mad, down here on your own."

"Do you think they're still alive?"

"Heck, we- we ain't seen no bodies down here. Maybe they just got lost."

There were more squeals. "I don't think they got _lost_, Frank."

"I ain't never heard nobody make a sound like that."

"Where's it coming from?" More squeals followed. "Sounds like there's more than one of them."

The Doctor and I had walked further into the tunnel, me holding his hand in a vice grip. "This way."

"No, that way," Solomon said as he pointed his torch in another direction.

"Doctor. Cerys." We walked back towards them, looking where Solomon's torch shone.

"Who are you?"

"Are you lost?" Frank asked, creeping towards the figure, earning a grunt from it. "Can you understand me? I've been thinkin' about folk lost down."

I grabbed the boy's arm. "Frank, stay back."

"Let us have a look." Smiling at the boy, I followed the Doctor as he inched closer to the person. "He's got a point, though, my mate Frank. I'd hate to be stuck down here all on my own. We know the way out." There was another squeal. "We know the way out. Daylight, if you come with us…" I stopped him when I saw that the figure had the head of a pig. "Oh, but what are you?"

"I think it's something like that time the Slitheen used a pig to cause panic."

"Is that, er… some kind of carnival mask?"

"No, it's real." He turned from Solomon to the creature. I crouched down next to the Doctor, feeling sorry for the person. Whoever or_ whatever_ had done that had to be other worldly, they had to possess something capable to changing a man into a pig. Seeing the sadness in the creature, I reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping the contact would be of some comfort. "I'm sorry. But listen to me. I promise I can help." I removed my hand as I heard footsteps approaching us. "Who did this to you?"

"Doctor, Rys… I think you'd better get back here." I looked up, seeing that the footsteps belonged to more pigmen.

"Doctor!" We both stood and slowly backed away.

"Actually, good point."

"They're following you."

"Yeah, we noticed that. Thanks. Well then, Martha, Frank, Solomon."

"What?"

"I think, er, basically-"

"Run!" I yelled as he grabbed my hand and we took off behind the others. I turned to see they were following us.

"Where are we going?!"

"This way!" he yelled, leading us to a ladder that was further down the passage. "It's a ladder! Come on!" The Doctor climbed up, using the sonic to open the manhole cover. I climbed up after him, followed by Martha and Solomon.

"Where's Frank?" I asked, getting on my knees and reached down, grabbing his hand as he scrambled up the ladder. "Frank! Come on!" The Doctor grabbed my waist and tried to help me pull him up. We were overpowered and Frank was pulled down into the sewer by the pig men. "No! Not again!"

Solomon placed a hand on my shoulder, gently pushing me away from the hole, shutting the lid before any of the pig people could climb up "Don't touch her!" the Doctor growled at the man before he pulled me to him and further away from the hole. "Rys, we had to move. The longer we kept it open, the more of a chance those creatures getting up here."

"But Frank…"

"We can't go after him."

"We have to! We can't leave him."

"Rys, look at me." I brought my eyes to meet his. "We'll save him but I will NOT risk you when we don't even know we're dealing with. Alright?" I nodded, clutching his lapels as I tried to calm myself. When I had, he helped me to my feet, his arm firmly placed around my waist.

"Those creatures were from Hell, from Hell itself! If we go after him, they'll take us all. There's nothing we can do. I'm sorry." I nodded, understanding how he must have felt. Looking at a rack, I saw a blonde woman step out, a gun in her hand.

"All right, then. Put 'em up." She cocked her gun. "Hands in the air and no funny business." Martha, Solomon and the Doctor instantly put their hands up while I stared at her, smirking to myself as I looked at the gun. She motioned for me to put my hands up but I shook my head, letting her know I knew about her 'dangerous' weapon. "Now, tell me, you schmucks, what have you done with Laszlo?"

"Who's Laszlo?"

She glanced at Martha before sitting down, at the vanity. "Laszlo's my boyfriend. Or _was_ my boyfriend until he disappeared, two weeks ago- no letter, no goodbye, no nothing." She waved the gun around before pointing it at her head. "And I'm not stupid. I know some guys are just pigs, but not my Laszlo." She aimed it back at us. "I mean, what kind of guy asks you to meet his mother before he vamooses?"

The Doctor pushed me behind him. "It might- might just help if you put that down."

"It's fake."

"Huh?" she asked confused, before glancing down at the gun in her hand. "Oh, sure." She tossed it onto a pile of clothes. As she did so, the others flinched, believing the gun would go off. "Oh, come on. It's not real. It's just a prop. It was either that or a spear."

"See?" I questioned with a smug grin on my face.

"What do you think happened to Lazlo?"

"I wish I knew. One minute, he's there, the next, zip- vanished."

"Listen, um… what's your name?"

"Tallulah."

"Tallulah."

"Three Ls and an 'H'."

"I like it." The woman smiled at me.

"Right. Um, we can try to find Laszlo, but he's not the only one. There are people disappearing every night."

"And there are creatures… such creatures."

"What do you mean, creatures?"

"Look, listen, just trust me. Everyone is in danger." He reached into his pocket, rummaging through it a bit. "I need to find out exactly what this is…" He pulled the blob out, holding it for her to see. "Because then I'll know exactly what we're fighting."

"Yuck."

I sat on a prop box, watching as the Doctor ran around the room, looking for parts to build a scanner. "How about this? I found it backstage," Solomon said as he showed him a radio.

"Perfect. It's the capacitors I need. I'm just rigging up a crude little DNA scan for this beastie. If I can get a chromosomal reading, I can find out where it's from."

"How about you, Doctor? Where are you from? I've been all over. I never heard anybody talk like you. Just exactly who are you?" I stood, leaving them to find Tallulah and Martha. The two were in a different section of the dressing room, putting on makeup and fixing her hair; getting ready for her next show. As I walked in, the pair were already mid conversation.

"Hey, you're lucky, though. You got yourself a forward thinking guy with that hot potato in the sharp suit."

"Er, he's not- We're not… together."

"Oh, sure you are! I've seen the way you look at him. It's obvious."

"Not to him."

"Is it that other girl?"

"I don't know but I'm pretty certain it is. They've been travelling together for a while. I only just joined them."

"He _was_ awfully chummy with her. Still, you got to live in hope. It's the only thing that's kept me going because, well, look. On my dressing table every day still." I turned away, returning to the Doctor. I didn't want to listen to their conversation, but hearing them talk about the Doctor, I couldn't help it. I knew Martha felt something for him, only an idiot wouldn't see that. But the Doctor was just that, an idiot, specifically _my_ idiot. I sighed, finding the Doctor in the lighting gallery. He had assembled the scanner, which was being powered by the sonic screwdriver. I went and stood beside him, crouching down and rocking on the balls of my feet.

He went and turned on a large stage light, turning it so that it was directly on the blob. "That's it. Just need to heat you up." He sat down beside me, put on his glasses and began to examine the blob.

"It's artificial," I stated, not needing the scanner to tell me.

"You're right." He turned a nob and messed with the wires a bit. "Genetically engineered. Whoever this is- oh! You're clever." He pulled out a stethoscope and listened to it. "Fundamental DNA type four six seven dash nine eight nine. Nine eight nine," he muttered to himself, rubbing his eyes as he tried to figure out where he recognised those numbers from. "Hold on, that means planet of origin…"

Skaro," I gasped. Jumping up, I ran from the gallery, rushing to where I hoped Martha was, watching the show from the wings of the stage. The Doctor, having the same idea, took off with me, only for us to find the gaggle of performers instead.

"Where is she? Where's Martha?"

"I don't know. She ran off the stage."

Hearing a scream, we ran back to the props room, where we heard it come from. I longed with every fibre of my body that we'd find her safe and unharmed. "Martha!" When we reached, the sewer entrance was askew. I let out a shaky breath, worried for the woman. Yes, we weren't close but she was the Doctor's companion, whether he knew it or not, and she was human. I picked up his coat, tossing it at him. Turning, I realised that Tallulah had followed us.

"Oh. Where are you going?"

"They've taken her."

"Who's taken her?" the Doctor pushed the manhole cover off. "What're you doin'?" I ignored the woman and began to head down the ladder, the Doctor soon following. "I said, what the hell are you doin'? Crazy guy, oy," she continued, climbing down in a dark brown coat.

"No, no, no, no, no way. You're not coming."

"Tell me what's going on."

"There's nothing you can do. Go back."

"Look," she said, climbing down the rest of the way, "whoever's taken Martha, they could've taken Laszlo, couldn't they?"

"Tallulah you're not safe down here."

"Then that's my problem. Come on. Which way?" she snapped, walking down one of the tunnels. I sighed, knowing if it were the Doctor, I would have done the same, no matter the danger. Glancing at him, I grabbed his hand, getting him to look at me. When our eyes met, I shrugged and began to lead him down a tunnel.

"This way," he sighed in defeat. Tallulah stalked back over and followed us down a different one.

"When you say, 'they've taken her', who's 'they' exactly? And who are you two anyway? I never asked."

"Quiet."

"Okay, okay."

"Shush, shush, shush, shush, shush, shush, shush." We watched as the shadow of an old enemy rolled ahead of us.

"I mean, you're handsome and all-" I threw my hand over her mouth, pulling her deeper into the alcove, with the Doctor covering us, until the Dalek was gone. I let her go, gasping for air at the close encounter.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no," he said, leaving the nook. "They survive. They always survive, while I lose everything."

I moved to him, seeing his distress and clutching his face, forcing him to meet my eyes. "You _didn't_ lose everything. I'm still here and _we're_ still together. Okay?" He nodded, placing his hands over mine. I quickly stole a kiss and turned to Tallulah, keeping my hand in his.

"That metal thing? What was it?"

"It's a Dalek and that's just the armour. Inside is a living creature," I explained.

She began to laugh. "You're kiddin' me."

"Does it look like she's kidding?" he snapped. I took his face in my hands again calming him almost instantly. I understood his anger but it was no reason for him to get angry at Tallulah; it wasn't her fault she didn't know. When I was certain he hand his anger controlled, I released his face but kept my hand firmly in his. "Inside that shell, there's a creature born to hate, whose only thought is to destroy everything and everyone that isn't a Dalek, too. And it won't stop until it's killed every human being alive."

"But if that's not a human being, that kind of implies it's from outer space." We gave no reply, our faces aloof. "Yet again, that's a no with the kiddin'. Oy! Well, what's it doin' here, in New York?"

I glanced at Tallulah before making up my mind. Grabbing her hand, I began to lead her back towards the ladder. "I don't know but the longer you're down her, the more danger you're putting yourself in. Go back, Tallulah." I saw the shadow of a pig man come around the corner. Tallulah screamed, causing it to hide, or try to. Instantly I knew this one was different from the others.

"Where's Martha?" the Doctor questioned, running towards the pig man. I held onto Tallulah, keeping her from getting too close. "What have you done with her? What have you done with Martha?"

"I didn't take her."

"You remember your name?"

"Don't… look at me."

Tallulah and I walked towards the two. "Do you know where she is?"

"Stay back! Don't look at me."

"What happened to you?"

"They made me a monster."

"Who did?"

"The masters."

"But why would the Daleks do that?"

"They needed slaves. They needed slaves to steal more people, so they created us- part animal, part human. I escaped before they got my mind, but it was still too late."

"Do you know what happened to Martha?"

"They took her. It's my fault. She was following me."

"Were you in the theatre?"

"I never- yes."

"Why? Why were you there?"

"I never wanted you to see me like this."

"Why me? What I got to do with this? Were you following me? Is that why you were there?"

"Tallulah…" I whispered, realizing who we were speaking to. The person turned around so that she could see him.

"Yes."

"Who are you?"

"I was lonely."

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice breaking as she got closer to him.

"I needed to see you."

"Who are you?"

"I'm sorry." He turned to walk away but she reached out, grabbing onto his arm. As they spoke, I moved to the Doctor's side.

"No, wait. Let me look at you." She moved him into the light, examining him for a moment before realisation hit her. "Laszlo? My Laszlo? Oh, what have they done to you?"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Laszlo, can you show us where they are?"

"But they'll kill you."

"If we don't stop them, they'll kill everyone."

"Then follow me."

Laszlo led us through the tunnels, quickly and soundlessly. When he stopped, we were behind a corner, able to hear the squeals of the pig slaves. I gave a small sigh of relief when I Martha and Frank alive, although Martha was clutching her wrist. We quickly took cover in an alcove when we saw and heard the Daleks approach the group.

"Silence. Silence."

"What the hell is that?" I heard Martha say.

"You will form a line. Move! Move!" the slaves began to push them against the wall.

"Just so what it says, everyone, okay? Just… obey."

"The female is wise. Obey!"

"Report."

"These are strong specimens. They will help the Dalek cause."

"Dalek?"

"What is the status of the Final Experiment?"

"The Dalekanium is in place. The energy conductor is now complete."

"Then I will extract prisoners for selection." We watched a fully converted pig slave drag one of the men forward. "Intelligence scan, initiate." It put its sucker to his face. "Reading brainwaves. Low intelligence."

"You calling me stupid?"

"Silence! This one will become a pig slave. Next!"

"No, let go of me. I'm not becoming one of them. No! No." The man was dragged away and the process started over with another person.

"They're divided into two groups- high intelligence and low intelligence. The low intelligence are taken to become pig slaves like me."

"Well, that's not fair."

"Shh, shh, shh!"

"You're the smartest guy I ever dated," she whispered to Laszlo.

I smiled. It was obvious she was in love with the man, and it killed me that what chance she had to be with him were practically ripped away. "What about the others?"

"They're taken to the laboratory."

"But why? What for?"

"I don't know. The masters only call it the Final… Experiment."

I turned from Laszlo back to the Daleks. They had gone to scan Frank. "Superior intelligence." It then moved to Martha. "Intelligence scan, initiate. Superior intelligence. This one will become part of the Final Experiment."

"You can't just experiment on people. It's insane! It's inhumane!"

"We are not human. Prisoners of high intelligence will be taken to the transgenic laboratory."

"Look out, they're moving!" Laszlo pulled Tallulah away but the Doctor and I remained where we were.

"Doctor, Rys, quickly!"

"We're not coming. I've got an idea. You go!"

"Laszlo, come on."

"Can you remember the way?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Then go, please."

"But Laszlo, you got to come with me."

"Where would I go? Tallulah, I'm begging you. Save yourself. Just run. Just go. Go." Tallulah left and once the Daleks passed, the Doctor and I joined the line behind Martha.

"Just keep walking."

"Oh, I'm so glad to see you."

"Yeah, well, you can kiss me later. You too, Frank, if you want."

"Neither of you can kiss him," I scowled, my voice strained. He grabbed my hand, giving it a quick squeeze, trying to comfort me. The last time we'd dealt with Daleks, Rose ended up trapped in a parallel world and before that, the Doctor died. He was right, _they_ always seemed to survive while WE lost everything we held dear. It wasn't fair. When we had met the Dalek in Van Statten's museum, I couldn't understand why the Doctor had such hatred for the aliens, but now, as a Time Lady, I knew and I wanted the same thing. They had taken just about everything from us.

We were led into a large room, with a black Dalek at the front, violently shaking and smoking. A Dalek rolled past us, joining the other three. "Report."

"Dalek Sec is in the final stage of evolution."

"Scan him. Prepare for birth."

"Evolution?" the Doctor asked. That was a new concept for the Daleks and I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious about what they were doing.

"What's wrong with old Charlie boy over there?"

"Ask them."

"What, me? Don't be daft."

"We don't really want to get noticed, Martha. Please just ask."

She nodded and stepped out of the line, taking in a deep breath. "Daleks!" They turned to face her. "I demand to be told- what is the… Final Experiment? Report!"

"You will bear witness."

"To what?"

"The dawn of a new age."

"What does that mean?"

"We are the only four Daleks in existence, so the species must evolve a life outside the shell- the Children of Skaro must walk again." I cocked my head, surprised and confused. Daleks had always preferred life in its shell, it was their armour, how they'd managed to destroy so many planets. Still, I was extremely curious and through that curiosity, I watched as Dalek Sec's shell stopped smoking and the light in the eyestalk died. The casing opened and something struggled to get out. I held back a gasp, not wanting to alert them of our presence, but my grip on the Doctor's hand tightened considerably.

"What is it?"

Before us stood a one eyed creature with the head of a Dalek and the pin striped suit that belonged to Diagoras. It too in a breath, and the other three Daleks rolled away from it, Dalek Sec. After is intake of breath, it spoke. "I… am… a human Dalek. I… am your future." I tightened my grip on the Doctor's hand, my body shaking with rage and terror. This was new, something I never would have thought they'd consider but it was real. Daleks would never leave the confines of their armour… it wasn't Dalek… it was unnatural. If this was to be their future, I was content with wiping every last one of them from the face of the Earth.

* * *

_10/10/2014_

_Hey all! So a week has passed since the last update and a lot has happened. I finally figured out the problem with posting a new story and in the upcoming weeks, I'll be posting the companion story to this one, as well as a short work titled Their Firsts, dealing with our current lovebirds up until the Time War, giving a bit of background on them. That should definitely be fun for you guys. I'll be posting it in the next ten minutes, actually. _

_Unlike the previous weeks, I won't be asking about this week's episode since I have yet to watch it. It was a friend's birthday and I ended up there. It was recorded though so I'll be watching it in the next few days so by the next update, hopefully before Saturday, I'll talk about it. Please no spoilers. :) Now, onto the reviews. Again, thanks for reading, following, and reviewing. _

_**Squidtastik:** That's exactly why I enjoyed the episode and felt the same way about humanity. It was one of those situations where they should have given it a chance to live. There was no way to tell it would attack or cause harm to the human tace._

_**NicoleR85:** She definitely seems to be his conscious. But I will be writing her in Season 8. I already have so many ideas for them, and not all of them will be pretty. With his new Doctor, it'll definitely add a bit of a strain to their relationship, sadly... or maybe it won't. I'm not 100% sure yet._

_**I'm-a-Klaus-addict:** Lolz. Yep, she definitely knows that Jack's the Face of Boe. I would consider him the last human since he wasn't turned into an alien persay but was made immortal in a way. But I'd definitely say human even if from the 51st Century but it does make one think. I just can't wait to post the future episodes though. I have a feeling you're going to enjoy them. Same about them shutting off the lights. Yes! I definitely got that reference and I definitely think that Courtney Woods is to be the president. Ahh, hope you didn't get caught and I'm right there with you on procrastination. I had a few papers due this past week that I didn't do until the morning of haha. _

_**Takara Matsudaira:** You should definitely start from Nine, if you don't mind me saying. It was RTD era and the story arcs and everything was just amazing. It leads up to what we now have with Twelve. But you basically have the overall gist of it. Clara is irrevocably his conscious and the overall voice of reason, although while he listens to her, it takes a while for him to do so. Psi was amazingly attractive. Honestly, so far, all the episodes have been great, in my opinion. By the argument, it seems as if her time with the Doctor is ultimately ending by the season's end. One thing that I absolutely adore in this season is the change between Clara and the Doctor. While before it was almost slightly romantic, it wasn't but they were best mates. In the new series, while they're best mates still, they have a lot of things to sort out and as we've all seen, she's the one who cares while he doesn't, so to speak. I think Courtney is a bit too young to travel with him at the moment. But thank you so much. I actually have no idea who Cerys Matthews is but after seeing your review, I looked her up. She's pretty cool but not where I got the name from. I think it was from an old telly show I used to watch and I played around with the spelling and ended up with Cerys. _


	43. Evolution of the Daleks

"These humans will become like me. Prepare them for hybridization." As the creature said that, I felt the Doctor's hand slip from mine as he snuck off behind some equipment. As he did that, I watched the pig slaves approach us, grabbing onto our arms. Luckily, Laszlo was the one to grab hold of me.

"Leave me alone! Don't you dare!"

"Relax Martha. It'll be fine," I told the woman as she struggled in their grip. She looked at me as if I had three heads but calmed a bit. Just then, _Happy Days Are Here Again_ began to play. I smiled, knowing that they were distracted enough for whatever the Doctor planned to start.

"What is that sound?"

"Ah, well, now, that would be me." He placed the radio on the table and turned towards Dalek Sec, facing him but standing a good distance away. "Hello. Surprise! Boo! Et cetera."

"Doctor."

"The enemy of the Daleks!"

"Exterminate!"

"Wait just a minute," I snapped as I walked towards the Doctor.

"It is the Destroyer!"

"Exterminate! Exterminate!" I stared them down, waiting for them to shoot. From the corner of my eye, I saw the Doctor stiffen, his hand moving to reach for mine. It was sweet but if I were to be exterminated, I wouldn't want him to be caught in the middle of it, especially since I had more regenerations than he did.

"Wait!" I shifted my attention to Sec.

"Well, then, a new form of Dalek." He walked towards Sec. "Fascinating. And very clever."

"The Cult of Skaro escaped you slaughter."

"How did you end up in 1930?"

"Emergency temporal shift."

"Oh. Oh! That must have roasted up your power cells, yeah?" He turned, pulling at his ear and turning away from the creature. "Time was, four Daleks could have conquered the world." He walked away, subtly squeezing my hand as he passed by. Moving further away, he looked around the room, inspecting the area. "But instead, you're skulking away, hidden in the dark, experimenting. All of which results… in you."

"I am Dalek in human form!"

"Oh, and how does that feel?" I asked stepping closer to the Doctor. "You can talk to him. You have a name, Dalek Sec, right, and a mind all your own? So tell him, what are you thinking in this very moment."

"I… feel… humanity." Sec turned away.

"Good. That's good."

"I don't think it is." The Doctor glanced at me in confusion but I just motioned to Sec.

"I… feel… everything we wanted from mankind, which is… ambition… hatred… aggression… and war! Such… a genius for war!"

"No, that's not what humanity means."

"I think it does! At heart, this species is so very… Dalek."

"All right!" He turned on the spot and the Dalek behind him quickly backed away. "So what have you achieved then, with this Final Experiment, eh? Nothing! Because I can show you what you're missing with this thing- a simple little radio."

"What is the purpose of that device?"

"Well, exactly- it plays music. What's the point of that? Oh, with music- you can dance to it, sing with it, fall in love to it," he shot me a wink, "Unless you're a Dalek, of course. Then it's all just noise." He aimed his sonic at the radio, emitting a high pitched noise that cause the Daleks and pigmen to wince in pain. He grabbed my hand before turning to the prisoners. "Run!" Listening, they all ran for the door, with us following. As we ran through the sewers, the Doctor and I managed to overtake everyone and we led the group out. "Come on! Move, move, move, move, move!" We saw Tallulah standing before us, looking around, lost and utterly confused.

"You too Tallulah.!

"What's happened to Laszlo?!" I managed a small sigh as I watched Martha drag her along. Turning my attention before me, I pulled the Doctor to the left, leading them to a ladder.

"Oh, you're amazing."

"Not the time," I managed to say with a smile. "Everyone up! Quickly!" When we were all on the surface, I shut the manhole and the Doctor soniced it, sealing the manhole. Before anyone could get comfortable, we began the walk to Hooverville.

Reaching, everyone but Martha, Frank, the Doctor, and me went to sit down and rest. The four of us were with Solomon, trying to explain the situation to him. "These… Daleks, they sound like the stuff of nightmares. And they want to bred?"

"They're splicing themselves onto human bodies. And if I'm right, they've got a farm of breeding stock right here in Hooverville. You've got to get everyone out."

"Hooverville's the lowest place a man can fall. There's nowhere else to go."

"We know and we're so sorry, Solomon. But those Daleks are going to come and when they do, you'll all be taken, some used as slaves and others for experimentation. You have to leave, all of you."

"She's right. You've got to scatter. Go anywhere. Down to the railroads, travel across state. Just get out of New York."

"There's got to be a way to reason with these things."

"Not a chance," Martha scoffed.

Frank stood from his seat next to Solomon. "You ain't seen 'em, Boss."

"Daleks are bad enough at any time, but right now, they're vulnerable. That makes them more dangerous than ever."

There was a whistle and we all turned to see a man running towards us. "They're coming. They're coming!"

"Sentry- must have seen something."

"They're here! I've seen them! Monsters! They're monsters!" With those words, the sentry sent the camp in a panic.

I grabbed the Doctor's hand, moving closer to him. "It's starting." He nodded, kissing the side of my head.

"We're under attack! Everyone, to arms!" Men began to take out their rifles, holding them at the ready.

"I'm ready, boss! But all of you- find a weapon! Use anything."

I looked around, watching some people run away. I couldn't blame them for it, this was something outside the norm for them. It was alien. "Come back! We've got to stick together! It's not safe out there! Come back!" Solomon cried out as the pig men entered the camp and began to grab those who ran.

"We need to get out of the park."

"We can't, Martha."

"They're on all sides. They're driving everyone back towards us."

"We're trapped!"

"Then we stand together! Gather 'round. Everybody, come to me. You there, Jethro, Harry, Seamus, stay together." Those who were armed formed a circle around the women who stood by the campfire. "They can't take all of us," Solomon stated and with that, the men began to shoot. With each gunshot, I jumped, memories of the war seeping through. I felt an arm wrap around my waist and I was pulled to the Doctor.

"If we can just hold them off till daylight."

"Oh, Martha, they're just the foot soldiers." Everything quieted as we looked up, the root of all nightmares approaching us.

"Oh my God!" she cried as a Dalek flew towards us.

"What in this world is…"

"It's the devil- a devil in the sky. God save us all. It's damnation."

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that!"

"Frank, no!" I said as he shot at the Dalek, the bullet bouncing off its armour.

"That's not going to work."

"There's more than one of them." I looked around, seeing a second Dalek firing at tents, killing anyone who had hidden in them or nearby. Around me I could hear the screams, the cries of terror. Memories of what had happened during the Time War… what _I'd_ done, resurfaced, leaving me shaking in terror and fury. I hated them… I hated the Daleks. I wanted nothing more than for them to be wiped out of the Universe. They didn't deserve life.

"The humans will surrender!"

"Leave them alone!. They've done nothing to you!" Solomon stepped forward. I grabbed hold of his arm but he only brushed it off. "No, Solomon. Stay back."

He ignored the Doctor. "I'm told that… I'm addressing the Daleks. Is that right? From what I hear, you're outcasts, too."

"Solomon. Don't!"

"Doctor, this is my township. You will respect my authority. Just let me try," he turned from the Doctor, "Daleks… ain't we all the same? Underneath, ain't we all kin?" Solomon placed his rifle onto the ground. "Because, you see, I've just discovered this past day that God's universe is a thousand times the size I thought it was. And that scares me. Oh, yeah, terrifies me, right down to the bone. But surely, it's got to give me hope, hope that, maybe together, we can make a better tomorrow. So I beg you now- if you have _any_ compassion in your hearts, then you'll meet with us and stop this fight. Well? What do you say?"

"Exterminate!" The Dalek shot Solomon, killing him with a burst of green energy.

"No! Solomon!" Frank cried as he ran over to the man.

"They killed him. They just shot him on the spot."

I clenched my fist, recalling everything the Daleks had done to me, my family, and my friends, from Gallifrey to Rose. "Yeah, because they don't care about anything that isn't a Dalek," I snapped, pulling from the Doctor. He tried to keep his hold on me but I jerked away. "Tell me Daleks, killing _defenceless_ people, does it make you feel powerful? You're pathetic and tiny and unimportant. You are nothing. If you want to kill someone, why not kill the Destroyer? You obviously remember me, the one who eliminated a hundred thousand Daleks in one strike. Single handed might I add. So do it! I dare you to. I ORDER you to!" I felt a hand grab mine. I looked up at the Doctor, seeing the resolve in his eyes. He wasn't going to let me do this alone, no matter what. This was his fight just as it was mine.

"Kill us if it'll stop you attacking these people!"

"I will be the destroyer of our greatest enemies!"

"Then do it! Do it! Just do it! Do it!"

"Exterminate!" I closed my eyes, waiting for it to happen. When it didn't I looked up at the Dalek, to see it just hovering there.

"I do not understand. It is the Doctor and the Destroyer!" It was quiet. To the others, it probably seemed like a one sided conversation but I knew it was speaking to Sec. "The urge to kill is too strong." There was more silence. "I… obey."

"What's going on?"

"You will follow."

Martha ran to us. "No! You can't go."

"We've got to go. The Daleks just changed their minds. Daleks _never_ change their minds."

"But what about us?"

"One condition! If we come with you, you spare the lives of everyone here! Do you hear me?"

"Humans will be spared. Doctor, Destroyer... follow."

"Then I'm coming with you."

I sighed, shaking my head. "You can't."

"And why's that?"

"Martha, stay here. Do what you do best. People are hurt. You can help them. Let us go." We both began to walk off but halfway to the two Daleks, he turned and jogged back over to her. "Oh, and… can I just say? Thank you very much." I watched as he took her hand and placed the psychic paper in her hands before taking mine and following the Daleks.

As we were escorted into the laboratory, I released the Doctor's hand, storming up to Dalek Sec. My fists were clenched as I tried to control my anger. Whatever had happened, I didn't want to be the reason the Doctor and I died. "They were defenceless! It was us you wanted and you went and killed them!" The Doctor strode over to be, grabbing my arm and pulling me to him, whispering palliative words.

"The deaths… were wrong."

The Doctor stopped, turning his attention from me to Sec. "I'm sorry?"

"That man, their leader, Solomon, he showed courage."

"And that's good?"

"That's excellent."

The Doctor and I exchanged a glance. "Is it me, or are you just becoming a little bit more human?"

"You are the last of your kind, and now I am the first of mine."

"What do you want us to do?"

Sec walked past us, stopping at a small table. "We tried everything to survive when we found ourselves stranded in this ignorant age. First we tried growing new Dalek embryos, but their flesh was too weak."

"We saw. You just left it to die," I angrily barked.

"It forced us to conclude- what is the greatest resource of this planet? Its people." He threw a switch and the lab lit up. Above us were hundreds of bodies on racks covered with white sheets. Sec pulled another lever and brought one down. The Doctor and I walked over to it , waiting until it had fully stopped. "We stole them. We stole human beings for our purpose. Look inside." The Doctor moved the top portion of the sheet, revealing the face of an extremely pale man. "This is the true extent of the Final Experiment."

"He's dead," I muttered.

"Near death, with his mind wiped. Sec caressed the man's forehead, an act that slightly unnerved me. "Ready to be filled with new ideas."

"Dalek ideas."

"The Human-Dalek Race."

"All of these people… how many?"

"We have caverns beyond this, storing more than a thousand."

"Is there any way to restore them? To make them human again?"

"Everything that they were has been lost."

"So they're like shells. You've got empty human beings, ready to be converted. That's going to take a hell of a lot of power. This planet hasn't even split the atom yet. How're you going to do it?"

"Open the conductor plan." A screen came up, showing the plans.

"Yeah, yeah. The Empire State Building. We're right underneath it. I worked that out already, thanks. But, what, you've hijacked the whole building?"

"We needed an energy conductor."

"What for?"

"I am the genetic template. My altered DNA was to be administered to each human body. A strong enough blast of gamma radiation can splice the Dalek and human genetic codes, and waken each body from its sleep."

"You're going to use the sun, aren't you?" I questioned.

"Soon, the greatest solar flare for a thousand years will hit the Earth. Gamma radiation will be drawn to the energy conductor, and when it strikes…"

"The army wakes. I still don't know what you need _us_ for."

"Your genius." My eyes widened at that. "Consider a pure Dalek- intelligent but emotionless."

"Removing the emotions makes you stronger- that's what your creator thought, all those years ago."

"He was wrong."

"He was what?"

"It makes us lesser than our enemies. We must return to the flesh, and also the heart." I turned my gaze to the other three Daleks. They were silent, too silent for my liking. It was almost as if they were planning something.

"But you won't be the supreme beings anymore."

"And that is good."

"That is incorrect!"

"Daleks are supreme!"

"No, not anymore!"

"But that is our purpose!"

"Then our purpose is wrong! Where has our quest for supremacy led us? To this- hiding in the sewers on a primitive world. Just four of us left. If we do not change now, then we deserve extinction."

"So you want to change everything that makes a Dalek a Dalek."

"If… you can help me. Your knowledge of genetic engineering is even greater than ours. The new race must be ready by the time the solar flare erupts."

"But you're the template. I thought they were getting a dose of you."

"I want to change the gene sequence."

"To make them more human?"

"Humans are the greatest survivors. We need that ability."

"Hold on a minute, though. There's no way this lot are going to let you do it."

"I am their leader."

"Oh, and that's enough for you, is it?"

"Daleks must follow orders."

"Dalek Sec commands, we obey."

"I don't believe that for a second. You'd let Dalek Sec change everything you were created to be without a fight? No, you're planning something, the three of you," I spat, feeling, _knowing_ they were going to do something.

"If you don't help me, nothing will change."

"There's no room on Earth for another race of people."

"You have your Tardis. Take us across the stars, find us a new home, and allow the new Daleks to start again."

"When's that solar flare?"

"Eleven minutes."

"Right, then. Better get to work." I stood back, watching the Doctor work. Although he was helping the enemy, I couldn't help but smile at him. That was just like him, to help those who wanted, even if they were hell bent on destroying everything. And… it was also nice to watch him work, sexy even. He looked up at me, grinning, almost as if he'd heard what I thought. I felt my cheeks heat up as I caught his gaze. I heard him chuckle a bit before returning to what he was doing. "There's no point in chromosomal grafting, it's too erratic. You need to split the genome and force the Dalek-Human sequence right into the cortex."

"We need more chromatin solution."

"The pig slaves have it." Pig men walked in carrying a large crate. I spotted Laszlo among them.

"What happens to them after this?"

"Nothing- they're just simple beasts. Their lifespan is limited. None survive beyond a few weeks. Power up the line feeds." As Sec turned his back, I watched the Doctor and Laszlo exchange a quick word. Unbeknownst to the pair, two of the Daleks watched them. I glared at them, suspicious at their practically instant obedience to the fact Sec wanted to change just about everything that made them a Dalek. No, they were just making it seem that way; the three were planning something.

"The line feeds are ready."

The Doctor ran over to a one of the tables, mixing the solution in a larger container. "Then it's all systems go."

"The solar flare is imminent. The radiation will reach Earth in a matter of minutes."

"And we'll be ready for it," the Doctor said as he filled the last syringe with a blue liquid and placed it into a brass still. "That compound will allow the gene bonds to reconfigure in a brand new pattern. Power up!" A pig man and Laszlo threw two switches.

"Start the line feeds." A Dalek did as told and the liquid moved through the tubes and into the hanging bodies.

"There goes the gene solution."

"The life blood."

As we stood there watching, a klaxon went off. My gaze immediately went to the Daleks while the Doctor and Sec looked around confused. "What's that?"

"What's happening? Is there a malfunction? Answer me!"

"It's your damn Daleks."

"No, no, no. The gene feed! They're overriding the gene feed!"

"Impossible! They cannot disobey orders."

One rotated towards the Doctor, moving towards him with its gun at the ready. "The Doctor will step away from the controls!"

"Stop! You will not fire."

"He is an enemy of the Daleks."

"And so are you." The Daleks aimed their guns at Sec.

"I am your commander. I am Dalek Sec!"

"Yeah, not going to work," I muttered as I inched over to the Doctor.

"You have lost your authority!"

"You are no longer a Dalek."

"What have you done? What's going into the gene feed?"

"The new bodies will be one hundred percent Dalek."

"No! You can't do this!"

"Pig slaves, restrain Dalek Sec, the Doctor, and the Destroyer." They moved to us and to my relief, Laszlo grabbed both me and the Doctor.

"Release me. I created you! I am your master!" There was another alarm which blared with urgency. I turned to see the lift was descending. I meet the Doctor and Laszlo's eyes and motioned to the lift. Nodding, we slowly backed away.

"Solar flare approaching!" The elevator bell dinged. "Prepare to intercept!"

"There's the lift."

"Rys, after you." I rolled my eyes and ran to it, followed by the two men. The Doctor soniced the lift doors open.

"The Doctor and the Destroyer are escaping! Stop him! Stop him!" .

Once we were inside, the Doctor quickly soniced the doors shut. "We've only got minutes before the gamma radiation reaches the Earth. We need to get to the top of the building." I slapped a hand over his mouth, bringing his attention a gasping Laszlo.

"What is it, Laszlo?"

"Out of breath. It's nothing. We've escaped them. That's all that matters." I eyed him for a moment, realizing that he was dying. When we'd met Tallulah, she'd said he'd been missing for weeks and Sec had mentioned that those made into pig slaves had a limited life span. I sighed, helping him stand as the lift came to a stop. Walking out, I released him and watched him go to Tallulah, who ran to him.

"Doctor!"

He smiled, grabbing my hand. "First floor, perfumery."

"I never thought I'd see you again!"

"No stopping me," Laszlo replied as the two embraced.

With a quick smile at the pair, the Doctor and I rushed over to where Martha stood, looking at some plans. "We've worked it out. We know what they've done! There's Dalekanium on the mast, and it's good to see you too, by the way."

"Oh, come here," he replied, letting go of my hand to hug her. I watched amused before I noticed the lift doors had closed. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! See? Never waste time with a hug!" He pulled out the sonic and began to us it on the switch. "Argh! Deadlock-sealed. I can't stop it."

"Where's it going?"

"Right down to the Daleks, and they aren't going to leave us alone up here- what's the time?"

"Er, eleven fifteen," Frank replied.

"Six minutes to go. I've got to remove the Dalekanium before the gamma radiation hits."

"'Gamman' radiation, What the heck is that?" Ignoring her, we ran to an open area and looked out.

"Oh, that's high. That's very- blimey, that's high."

"Been higher," I said in a sing-song voice.

"Of course _you_ have."

"And we've got to go even higher. That's the mast up there, look." We turned and glanced up. "There's three pieces of Dalekanium on the base. We've got to get them off." The three of us looked up at the wooden ladder that led to the base of the mast.

"That's not 'we'. That's just me."

"No, you idiot," I snapped, wrapping an arm around his. "It's US."

"I'm not just going to stand here and watch you."

"No, you're going to have your hands full, anyway. I'm sorry, Martha, but you've got to fight," he said before looking at me, almost pleading that I stay behind. Shaking my head, I walked over to the ladder and began the climb. I felt it jostle a bit as he soon joined me. I could also feel his eyes on me as we made our way up.

"Eyes front, mister."

"They're always front." I smirked, catching his voice move up a pitch. As I reached the mast, I sat on the side and pulled him the rest of the way. I shivered, the cold air making its way to my bones. Ignoring it, I watched as he used the sonic to unfasten the panels from the lightning conductor. When they were loose enough, I pulled them away. If I had a sonic of my own, it would have been easier and a lot quicker, but I still hadn't gotten around to asking the Tardis. We were able to get one completely off before the he dropped the sonic. "Seriously?"

"It's slippery and my hands are freezing." I rolled my eyes watching him try to pull the panel off with his hands.

"That's not going to work," I said, stating the obvious. "They're wielded on." The thunder grew closer, as did the lightning. "Doctor, there's only one thing…"

"Climb down."

I shook my head in defiance. "No."

"Rys…"

"I'm not leaving you up her to do it on your own. I can't and I won't." He nodded and we both climbed onto the mast and held on. When lightning struck the mast, his scream rung through the night. I bit my lip, holding in my yelp. It didn't hurt much; electrocution had been a favourite among the High Council in terms of my torture and I had built up a bit of an immunity. What did hurt was watching him fall. I didn't want him to get hurt and in the end, he always did. When it was over, I climbed down, running to his side. I placed my ear to his chest, relieved to hear his hearts beating. Sitting down, I moved his head to my lap and stroked his hair, waiting for him to wake up.

"Doctor! Doctor? Look what we found, halfway down." Martha held up the sonic, crying. "You're getting careless." She lowered it and turned to me, realising I hadn't said a word. "What the hell happened to him?"

"He was electrocuted."

"And you're just let it happen?! He could be dead."

"He's not. He'll wake up in a bit."

"How would you know?"

"Because I do. I took in most of it… I couldn't let him go through that… I couldn't let him experience that much pain," I whispered, trying to keep my voice from breaking. Noticing my distress, Martha placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"Oh, my head."

"Hiya."

"Hi. You survived, then."

"So did you. Just about."

"Rys? Where is…"

I wiped away a tear that fell, trying not to let him know just how distraught I was. "You're lying on my lap. I'm fine."

"Good," he replied, sitting up. I stood, holding my hand out for him. Taking it, he stood, leaning on me in order to catch his bearings.

"I can't help noticing- there's Dalekanium still attached."

"Sorry. We were busy being electrocuted, Martha. Besides, we lost the sonic," I replied as the three of us walked inside.

"The Daleks will have gone straight to a war footing. They'll be using the sewer system, spreading the soldiers out underneath Manhattan."

"How do we stop them?"

"There's only one chance. We got in the way. That gamma strike went zapping though us first."

"Yeah, but what does that mean?"

"We need to draw fire- before they can attack New York, I need to face them- where can I draw them out? Think, think, think, think, think." He began to muss up his hair. "We need some sort of space- somewhere safe, somewhere out of the way. Tallulah!"

"That's me. Three Ls and an H."

"The theatre- it's right above them! And, what? It's gone midnight? Can you get us inside?"

"Don't see why not."

"Is there another lift?"

"We came up in the service elevator." Martha ran off to call it.

"That'll do. _Allons-y_!"

We reached the theatre after a few minute's run. I had kept my eyes on Laszlo the entire time, worried he'd pass out at any moment. It was obvious he was deteriorating, and quickly at that. He didn't have much longer but I wanted to help him, I wanted him to live… as a human and not a pig man. Although I knew the Doctor couldn't do much to change him back, I knew I could. The forms of torture Rassilon and the High Council used, although it hurt like hell, unlocked a part of my biology that gave me certain abilities, ones that I knew could help.

"This should do it. Here we go!" He pulled out the sonic and began to scan the area.

"There ain't nothing more creepy than a theatre in the dark. Listen, Doctor, I know you got a thing for show tunes, but there's a time and place, huh?" I watched as Laszlo collapsed in a chair. As I moved towards him, Tallulah turned. "Laszlo, what's wrong."

"Nothing. It's just so hot!"

"But it's freezing in here. Doctor, what's happening to him?"

"Not now Tallula." I glared at him. "Sorry."

Rolling my eyes, I knelt down beside them. Making sure the Doctor wasn't looking, I grabbed Laszlo's hand, trying to tap into my abilities. Although I was able to control them, their use took a lot of energy and would leave me extremely shattered. Soon though, I was able to flow enough of it to him, keeping him well enough until I had the chance to fully heal him. "Tallulah, Laszlo will be fine. I promise." She nodded, hearing the sincerity in my voice. I didn't want another person to die. Not now, not after so many deaths.

"What are you doing?"

"If the Daleks are going to war, they'll want to find their number-one enemies. I'm just telling them where we are." He held the sonic up, giving the Daleks our location.

I walked over to them. "Martha, you should go."

"Like hell I am."

"I'm telling you to go," the Doctor reinforced. "Frank can take you back to Hooverville."

"And I'm telling you I'm not going!"

"Martha, that's an order."

"Who are you, then, some sort of Dalek?"

"No, he's not," I growled, catching the woman off guard when I grabbed her arm. "He's _trying_ to keep you safe. You have no idea what you're walking into, what Daleks can do. You've only scratched the surface. So just go!" As I said that, the doors broke open and people, the Human Daleks, marched in.

"Doctor!" Tallulah pulled Laszlo to the middle of the aisle, closer to us. "Oh, my God! Well, I guess that's them then, huh?"

"Humans. With Dalek DNA?"

Frank made a move towards them but the Doctor held him back. "It's all right, it's all right. Just stay calm. Don't antagonize them."

"But what of the Dalek masters? Where are they?"

Suddenly there was an explosion on the stage, causing Martha and Tallulah as we took cover. Glancing over the seats, I saw two Daleks onstage, with Sec on a chain leash, crawling on his hands and knees like a dog. I almost felt bad for him. That was no way to be treated, even if he was a Dalek. Taking the Doctor's hand, we stood. "The Doctor and Destroyer will stand before the Daleks." The Doctor walked up to them, stepping on the tops of the seats while I walked down the aisle like a normal person. "You will die, Doctor and Destroyer. It's the beginning of a new age."

"Planet Earth will become New Skaro!"

"Oh, and what a world, with anything just the _slightest_ bit different ground into the dirt. That's Dalek Sec. Don't you remember? The cleverest Dalek ever, and look what you've done to him. Is that your new Empire, hmm? Is that the foundation for a whole new civilization?"

"My Daleks… just understand this- if you choose death and destruction, then death and destruction will choose you."

"He's right, you know."

"Incorrect. We will always survive."

"Now we will destroy our greatest enemies- the Doctor and the Destroyer!"

"But they can help you."

"They must die."

"No! I beg you, don't."

"Exterminate!" Just before the Dalek shot, Sec stood in front of it, sacrificing his own life for us.

"Your own leader. The only creature who might have led you out of the darkness, and you destroyed him." He turned to the hybrids. "Do you see what they did, huh? You see what a Dalek really is? If we're going to die, let's give the new boys a shot. What do you think, eh? The Dalek-Humans, their first blood. Go on, baptise them!"

"Dalek humans, take aim." They did as ordered.

"What's the hold up? Go on, give the order."

"Exterminate!" I grabbed the Doctor's hand, feeling him tense. I smiled when nothing happened.

"Exterminate!"

"Obey. Dalek-Humans will obey."

"They're not firing. What have you done?"

"You will obey! Exterminate!"

"Why?"

"Daleks do not question orders."

"But why?"

"You will stop this."

"But why?"

"You must not question!"

"But you are not our master, and we- we are not Daleks."

"No, you're not. And you never will be."

"Did you think we'd really let you create a Human-Dalek hybrid.. after everything you've done? The Doctor and I got in the way of the lightning strike. Time Lord DNA got in the mix. Gave them quite a bit of freedom."

"If they will not obey, then they must die!" The Dalek shot the foreman.

"Get down!" the Doctor yelled as he grabbed me and pulled me to the floor, covering me with his body.

"If the circumstances were different, I might enjoy being in such a _compromising_ position." I watched as a red tint covered his cheeks. Letting out a small laugh, I pulled him into a quick kiss.

"When we get back to the Tardis, I want another." I smirked and jumped up when I heard the last Dalek get destroyed mid 'Exterminate', pulling him with me. "It's all right, it's all right. It's all right," he said to the hybrids. "It's all right. You did it. You're free." Suddenly the hybrids clutched their heads, screaming in pain before falling to the ground, dead. "No! They can't! They can't! They can't!"

"What happened? What was that?" Martha queried as she ran to our side.

"That was genocide."

"They killed them… rather than let them live. An entire species. Genocide."

"Only two of the Daleks have been destroyed. One of the Daleks masters must still be alive."

"Oh, yes. In the whole universe… just one." With that said, we ran to the laboratory, leaving the others to follow. Reaching, the Doctor and I walked in. "Now what?"

"You will be exterminated!"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, whatever. What's your name?"

"Dalek Caan."

"Dalek Caan." We approached the loan Dalek. "Your entire species has been wiped out. And now the Cult of Skaro has been eradicated, leaving only you. Right now, you're facing the only people in the universe who might show you some compassion. 'Cause we've just seen one genocide. We won't cause another. Caan… let me help you. What do you say?"

"Emergency temporal shift!" The Dalek said before it disappeared and the cables fell.

"Doctor! Doctor! He's sick." We spun around to see Tallulah and Martha helping a wheezing Laszlo. Guilt shot through me. I had given him enough of a boost to get him through that episode but it had faded. "It's okay. You're all right. It's his heart. It's racing like mad. I've never seen anything like it." He collapsed to the floor, unable to go any further into the room. Leaving the Doctor's side, I joined the three.

"What is it, Doctor? What's the matter with him? He says he can't breathe! What is it?"

"It's time, sweetheart."

"What do you mean 'time'? What are you talking about?"

"None of the slaves survived for long. Most of them only lived for a few weeks. I was lucky. I held on 'cause I had you. But now… I'm dying, Tallulah."

"No, you're not! Not now, after all this. Doctor, can't you do something?" she begged.

"Oh, Tallulah with three Ls and an 'H'… just you watch me." He snapped up and pulled off his jacket, tossing it aside. "What do I need? Oh, I don't know, how about a great big genetic laboratory? Oh look, I've got one. Laszlo… just you hold on! There's been too many deaths today." I watched the Doctor run around the lab, working with the liquids. Taking the opportunity, I went over to the three.

"Tallulah, Martha, step back," I whispered to the women.

"What are you going to do?"

"Just shut up and back away." I sighed, realising it'd come out harsher than I intended. "Please, Martha. I know you probably don't trust me but I can help. I can save him." Martha nodded and pulled Tallulah back as I turned my attention to Laszlo. "This might hurt just a bit. I'm about to rewrite your DNA."

"I'm ready." I nodded, smiling as I placed my hand over his heart and let the energy flow through me. When I had restored his DNA enough for the Doctor's mixture to do its job, I pulled back, standing. I staggered a bit but went and stood by the doorframe.

"Way too many people have died. Brand new creatures and wise old men and age old enemies. And I'm telling you, I'm telling you right now, I am not having one more death! You got that? Not one. Tallulah, out of the way." He pulled out his stethoscope and put it on. "The Doctor is in." After giving Laszlo the mixture, we watched as he slowly changed back, the process to him looking like a human again taking effect. I smiled, knowing we had helped, even if it would take a bit of time. Tallulah was ecstatic, hugging the man as if her life depended on it. She turned to hug me but I shook my head, so she hugged the Doctor and Martha.

While they were occupied, Laszlo came over to me. "Thank you."

"It's fine."

"He doesn't know, does he?"

"I'd like to keep it that way… if you don't mind."

"It's safe with me. Thanks, again."

"Go. I don't think Tallulah was finished with you," I laughed, pushing him back towards the group. When all was said and done, the six of us returned to Central Park, mainly to bit Frank farewell. He waved, giving Martha a hug before walking back to the site. Tallulah and Laszlo left us a while after, happy to be together after weeks apart and the three of us returned to Bedloe's Island.

"Do you reckon it's going to work, those two?"

"Of course. Tallulah loved him when he had the face of a pig. They'll be fine. The pig and the showgirl."

"It proves it, I suppose- there's someone for everyone."

"Yeah," he said, the two of us glancing at each other with a smile as we reached the Tardis.

"Meant to say- I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"Just… because that Dalek got away. I know what that means to you. Think you'll ever see it again?"

"Oh, yes. One day." I smiled and unlocked the Tardis door, leading the way in. Once inside, I ran to my room and jumped into the shower.

When I finished, I threw on a pair of black leggings and an oversized Nirvana sweatshirt, and yellow Chuck Taylors. Throwing my damp hair into a ponytail, I went to the library, hoping to find Castaways again. Once I had located it, I plopped down in my favourite spot and started to read. A bit more than halfway through, I saw the Doctor sit behind me, pulling me to his chest. I smiled and snuggled into him, not shifting my focus on the book. Finally closing it, I turned my body so that I was facing him. "What can I do you for?"

"I'm here to collect my kiss." I smiled and gave him one on the cheek, laughing at his expression. "Not exactly what I had in mind." I chuckled and kissed him, trying to satisfy my own desire as well as his. Pulling away, I moved to stand, only to be pulled back down.

"Yes?"

"The Destroyer, hmm?"

"Yeah. They did break me. I killed, not that I'm proud of it, but it happened."

"Hundred thousand Daleks?"

"I'm extremely good."

"Singlehandedly?"

"Like I said. They made me into a super soldier so to speak. I didn't need anyone to help me. They would have gotten in the way… or worse."

"Hmm."

"What?"

"_You_ find it sexy when I work."

"You heard that?!" I asked, covering my face with my hands. As quickly as I had put them there, he had pulled them away.

"I did."

"How?"

"I don't know. Have you been trying to connect?"

"A bit. Twice and that wasn't one of those times."

"When?"

"After you'd been electrocuted and when we were at Central Park, before they led us to Sec."

"Let's try it."

"Now?"

"Now."

"But why?"

"I want to hear you, Rys. It's driving me mad."

"You're already mad," I chuckled, placing a hand on his cheek. "But when we were on Gallifrey, you always had your shields up. I don't want that to happen again…"

"We were different people then; we both had our own problems."

"Me more so. That _nearly_ killed me, Theta. Yes, we're different but I think if it came to that again, I wouldn't be able to bounce back."

"I won't do that to you, Rys, I swear."

_"__Alright. But if you break your promise, I'll shoot you."_

"Shoot me? Wait, did you just?"

"I did," I answered with a smirk.

"How did…"

"That was all I really needed. A promise."

"This entire time?"

"No. That was my biggest worry, my greatest fear. I think subconsciously it was always there, always connected to you but the fear of it being cut off, that you'd raise your shields, that might have crippled me. Rassilon was able to shield the connection during the war but regenerating, it was me who wouldn't let you in."

"Rys?"

"Hmm?" I answered, looking up. His only reply was to hungrily kiss me, leaving me breathless when we parted. "Well, if this is how you react just to hearing me, what's going to happen for the other two?"

"We'll see when we get there. Now, you REALLY should move in."

"I really like my room."

"But I would like to share a room with my _wife_."

"Your _wife_ loves her room. She'll move in soon. I promise."

"I'm holding you to that," he replied, planting another kiss on my lips.

* * *

_22/10/14_

_Ah, the fluffiness that is Rys and the Doctor although there honestly wasn't as much of it as in the previous chapter. Honestly, love them. So, as to why it took AGES to update would have to do with my insane workload and the fact I was reading a really good fanfiction. I really wanted to finish it and now that I have, I can update. I was also trying to get to the halfway point of writing the episode I am working on and finishing a few chapters for my soon to be published novel. But yeah, it was my own laziness. _

_Anywho, what did you think of the chapter? Hope Rys wasn't too weird in it. I know I took the Doctor's awesome speech from him and made Rys do it and I hope you don't hate me for that. He has so many and I wanted to show a bit of a darker side to her, so to speak. And I also hope her helping Laszlo and the way she helped him was believable and how she did so made sense. If not, let me know. I honestly have the whole thing mapped out in my head so it sometimes gets a bit muddled._

_Anyways, onto the reviews. Thanks for all who read, followed, and left a review. It made my day each time I saw a new one in my email. _

_**NicoleR85**: Request granted. I have so many ideas for Rys and 12. While there's a possibility that she'll be his conscious, there's also the thought that she may be worse than him, or not even around ;)_

_**Squidtastik**: I can honestly say that it was interesting. I have to re-watch it though and watch the past week's one. Or I just need to have Saturday nights to myself until the season finale. I do too! I adore how much love they have in that episode. It makes me wish that there was a side one that showed how they got on after the Doctor left. _

_**I'm-a-Klaus-addict**: Yes, he is. The actor is Andrew Garfield, plays Spiderman in the new movies (if you were still too lazy to look it up, haha). See, I'm literally always on but I have a reader app on my phone so it's not like I'm on the site. But I literally spend days reading stories on here when I should be working on a story or homework... But I'm sure you'll love reading the 20+ updates awaiting you. That costume sounds amazing. How was spirit week for you?_

_**CMRiddle**: I'm so glad you have been enjoying the story and like the character. With these adventures and the coming ones, it's all about showing the different dynamics of their relationship at times. While she hasn't been too mad with him yet, it'll definitely happen sooner or later. Definitely don't think you're weird or crazy, haha. You can trust me on this. Have a great night as well._

_**Takara Matsudaira**: Hopefully by now you're past episode three. As for your dislike of Rose, other people might yell at you or question you about it but I'm definitely cool with it. It took me re-watching the series a third time to even start to like her and I've watched the entire thing more than five times now. I think Billie Piper was 22/23 at the time of filming so not too far off. I hope you come to like her as well since she was such a good companion. And aww, that honestly made me break into a silly smile. I'm so glad the story helped you warm up to her. It was my pleasure and such an honour. As for Courtney, she is way too young to travel but if he does what he did with Amy, it might not work out. While he is definitely more domestic than his previous incarnations, I'm thinking with the hint of the female president, she probably won't be his next companion... but that's just my opinion. Your theory definitely makes sense though and same, I wouldn't mind it. Capaldi does bring a different aspect to the Doctor and I too love it. He has lost the childishness his previous incarnations possessed and returned to being the serious Doctor. I agree that he does seem to be a better pilot than his previous selves which makes me wonder how since he never passed his test. But then again, a thousand years of practice could make even the dumbest person an expert. I watched bits of the episode and loved what I saw. I'm planning on watching them all Friday since I get off work super early. I'm going to write up to Twelve and beyond... or until I get tired of writing or no longer can. So no worries about that. But I do find it ironic but it's also extremely hilarious when he realises that he isn't ginger... just brown. Cerys will definitely gain a companion in the future, before 11 comes along actually. Won't say the sex of the companion but she will be getting one. So glad I've inspired you to write a DW fic. Even if you decide not to post it, I'd love to read it, if that's cool. I am the name expert so if you need any ideas, feel free to ask. Something that I usually do that helps with names is writing them down and trying to come up with different spelling variations. It usually does the trick. Also listen out for the names of people around you or in books or on the web. Some of the best names I've found came off Tumblr- the sims sections. It's great for inspiration. I like that as a last name. Would you make it so that the OC is actually unlucky or make him/her the luckiest person in the story to play on irony? Baby Whovian or not, you're still a Whovian and that's what matters haha. And I don't mind the long review at all. So happy that you're enjoying the story :)_

_**Hae**: It has been forever since I've seen one of your comments. Hope all is well. Honestly one of my favourite bits in the chapter. They're just so freaking adorable. Yeah, sometimes he needs someone to tell him that he isn't as alone as he thinks he is. It's something he's learning to do. So glad that you loved the chapter though. _

_**Serendipity989**: Glad to read that you're enjoying the story/chapter. I will definitely have their history be brought up throughout the chapters. If you want a sort of backstory to their relationship, check out Their Firsts. It's extremely short but it gives some insight. I will be posting a side story for the adventures and in-between time I didn't put into Her Secrets as well. Personally, I don't like writing from actual character's POV only because I don't want to mess it up. However, in this side story, I will have them speak about it so the reader knows what was going through his head at that point in time. As for the Doctor taking a stand, he always does, Rys just kind of goes along with it. As the story progresses, they will have their differences and arguments and whatnot but that's something for the future. If you have any suggestions, feel free to PM me. I promise not to chew your ass out for it. :)_


	44. The Lazarus Experiment

After a bit of… convincing, I finally got the Doctor to let me pilot the Tardis. Unlike him, I had passed the test but he really loved flying her. While his flights were turbulent, mine were more smooth, always precise. The Tardis hummed as she landed, content with being piloted properly. I chuckled. As much as she complained about the Doctor's horrible steering, I knew she loved it as well. I felt it was more when she wanted to be piloted properly that I would take over. I turned to him, a broad smile on my face. "Hmm, a perfect landing."

"Yeah, all right."

"You wouldn't have been able to get into such a tight spot."

"Of course I could have. It's easy."

"He should be used to tight spots by now," Martha teased. "Where are we?"

"The end of the line." Martha ran to the door, stopping at it and turning back to us. "No place like it."

Martha walked out, followed by the Doctor and me. "Home? You took me home?"

"In fact, the morning after we left. You've only been gone a little over twelve hours."

"But all the stuff we've done- Shakespeare, New New York, old New York, Rinston?"

"Yep. All in one night, relatively speaking. Everything should be just as it was- books, CDs… laundry." He picked up an undergarment that Martha quickly snatched from his hand. "So, back were you were, as promised."

"This is it?"

"Yeah. We should probably, um…"

Martha's phone rang and the machine picked it up, "Hi, I'm out. Leave a message."

"I'm sorry."

"Martha, are you there? Pick it up, will you?"

"It's Mum. It'll wait."

"All right then, pretend that you're out if you like. I was only calling to say that your sister's on TV. On the news, of all things. Just thought you might be interested." Martha went and turned on the telly.

"**The details are top secret-**"

"How could Tish end up on the news?" I looked to see a young black woman standing next to a much older man making the announcement.

"**Tonight, I will demonstrate a device… which will redefine our world.**"

"She's got a new job- PR for some research lab."

"**With the push of a single button, I will change what it means to be human.**"

"**Professor! Professor!**"

She turned the television off. "Sorry. You were saying, you should…"

"Yes, yes, we should. One trip is what I said."

"Yeah. I suppose things just kind of… escalated."

"Mmm. Seems to happen to me a lot."

"Thank you… for everything."

"It was my pleasure." As he walked into the Tardis, I gave the woman a knowing smile before entering after him, watching as he put the Tardis in the Vortex.

"Doctor…"

"I know," he replied, bringing it back to Martha's and poking his head out. "No. I'm sorry. Did he say he was gonna change what it means to be human?" I smiled and poked my head out, winking at her before motioning for Martha to come back in. From the moment I heard the man on the telly, I knew the Doctor's curiosity was peaked.

After hours of lounging about the Tardis, I pulled Martha to the wardrobe. I wanted to talk to her as we changed into our outfits for the night. "Martha, I know I can get snappy at times, and you don't really trust me… but have I done anything wrong? At times I feel as if you don't particularly want me around…"

"Er, no. That's not it at all."

"Is it because of the Doctor, then?"

She sighed, looking at me for the first time since we entered the cupboard. "I thought I had a chance with him. In the hospital, where we met, he kissed me and I thought… I don't know something could happen. I didn't know about you."

"He did what?!"

"Was I not supposed to tell you?"

"Hold on just a mo. I have to speak with the Doctor," I said as I stormed out of the wardrobe and into the console room.

"_You_ kissed Martha Jones."

"Huh? Kissed Martha? Oh! Now just hold on."

"Why should I?" I asked, slapping his arm.

"It was a genetic transfer. I needed to buy time and the Judoon were after a plasmavore. I just needed them off my trail."

"You DON'T kiss anyone but me."

"I know that. I've only kissed you since I found you, Rys. Genetic transfer, that was all it was."

"Fine," I said, grabbing his suit lapels and kissing him. Pushing him away, I cocked my head to the side, smirking. "Better than Martha Jones?"

"Definitely," he replied breathlessly. Satisfied, I returned to the wardrobe.

"Sorry about that. Now, where were we… right, dresses."

"So, You and him are together." It was a statement, one that sounded as if she figured out a puzzle she'd been trying to decipher for a while.

"Have been for years."

"Why didn't you say? Neither of you never say."

"Actions speak louder than words," I replied with a smile before I turned away, finding a dress for Martha. It was dark purple, loose under the bust, and knee length. Looking around, I found a pair of matching Maryjane like heels I held it up for her, happy to see her reaction.

"I love it."

"Glad to hear."

"What are you going to wear?" I shrugged, looking through the fancy dress section. As I searched, Martha pulled on her outfit. After a bit more of a search, I found the perfect dress. Pulling it out, I showed Martha. It was floor length, with a leather corset like bodice and a Tardis blue, flowing lace skirt. "It's gorgeous. Go on, then. Put it on." I chuckled and stripped down, pulling the dress up. Checking myself in the mirror, I couldn't help but smile. The dress seemed to compliment my purple hair perfectly. Grinning, I reached for a pair of combat boots. While I was willing to get in a dress, there was no way in hell I was wearing heels.

"So, what to do with the hair?" I asked, seeing Martha had put on a black headband. "I was thinking of curling it."

"But leave it down." I nodded and got to work. Finally finished, I looked at Martha, hoping to get her opinion. "You look amazing."

"Thanks. You do too. Hey, would you mind doing me a favour?"

"Sure."

"Can you lead the Doctor outside? I want to surprise him. I never really dress up and I want to see his face when I pop out."

"No problem." I smiled, waiting a bit until I heard the Tardis door close behind them. Taking my cue, I left the wardrobe and walked to the door, stroking the console on the way out.

The look on the Doctor's face was worth the uncomfortable feeling of being in a dress. The moment he saw me, I thought he was going to have dual heart attacks. His eyes had glazed over a bit and his mouth hung slack as his eyes wondered my body. I laughed a bit before blushing, his thoughts making their way to me. "Doctor, I actually _like_ this dress." He snapped back, his cheeks turning pink as he realized what I meant.

"You look phenomenal."

I took his arm. "Thank you. I hate that suit."

He laughed. "I know. You tried to throw it into a sun."

"Really," Martha asked, slightly bewildered. "Why?"

"Whenever I wear this, something bad always happens."

"That's not the outfit. That's just you. Anyway, I think it suits you… in a James Bond kind of way."

"Don't say that." I groaned as he wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me closer to his side. "His head's just going to inflate even more now. And trust me Martha, it's the suit."

"James Bond? Really?" he asked, content with the comparison as we walked up to a building labelled Lazarus Laboratories, cameras shuttering away as we did.

Walking in, I took in the view. The place was posh, incredibly posh. In the middle of the room stood a circular dais that held a frosted glass chamber and four upright posts that were slightly curved at the top. As I stepped away to admire the machine, a waiter passed by with a tray of food. "Oh, look. They've got nibbles! I love nibbles." The Doctor grabbed two, popping one in his mouth and placing the other in mine. I smiled at him, not really enjoying it but more the fact he thought of me enough to offer.

_"__I always think of you."_

_"__I think of you, too."_

_"__And you really do look spectacular."_

_"__Thank you. I was thinking, maybe we try what you were thinking, just without destroying my dress and all."_ I watched his face flush again as he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me to him as who I could only assume was Martha's sister, approached us.

"Hello."

"Tish!"

The pair hugged, Tish pulling away to see her sister's outfit. "You look great. So, what do you think? Impressive, isn't it?"

"Very."

"And two nights out in a row for you. That's dangerously close to a social life."

"If I keep this up, I'll end up in all the gossip columns." I smiled at them as they spoke, just enjoying being in the Doctor's arms. It was my favourite place to be.

"You might, actually. You should keep an eye out for photographers. And Mum. She's coming too- even dragging Leo along with her."

"Leo, in black tie? That I _must_ see." Leaving our private conversation, and the waitress with the 'nibbles', we strolled over to Martha and her sister. "This is, uh, the Doctor and Rys."

"Hi."

He moved the snacks to his other hand and shook Tish's. "Hello."

"Are they with you?"

"Yeah."

"But they're not on the list. How did they get in?"

"He's my plus-one."

"And her?"

"I'm his plus one. Is that alright?" I innocently asked, laying on my charm the best I could.

"So, this Lazarus, he's your boss?"

"Professor Lazarus, yes. I'm part of his executive staff."

"She's in the PR department."

"I'm _head_ of the PR department, actually."

"You're joking."

"I put this whole thing together."

"That's amazing."

"So, do you know what the professor's gonna to be doing tonight? That looks like it might be a sonic microfield manipulator."

"He's a science geek. I should have known. Got to get back to work now. I'll catch up with you later." Tish shot us a smile and went off to tend to her duties.

"'Science geek'- what does that mean?"

"That your obsessively enthusiastic about it."

"Oh, nice." Martha and I chuckled a bit before she looked up, seeing two people she recognized.

"Martha."

"Mum!" She went and gave her mother a hug, catching the woman by surprise. As the three spoke, the Doctor and I stood to the side, having a small chat about the mainipulator, until she waved us over. "These are friends of mine. The Doctor and Rys."

"Doctor what?"

"No, it's just the Doctor. We've been doing some work together."

"You alright, mate?"

"It's lovely to meet you, Mrs Jones. Heard a lot about you." I shook my head, knowing he had just put himself in another one of his 'mother' situations.

"Have you? What have you heard then?" the woman asked, causing me to chuckle.

"Oh, you know, that you're Martha's mother and. Er, no, actually, that's- that's about it. We haven't had much time to chat, you know, been busy."

"Busy? Doing what, exactly?"

"Oh, you know…. st-" I quickly covered his mouth.

"Sorry about him. If it has nothing to do with science he's a complete idiot. We met a few weeks ago at the hospital. He was feeling a bit ill and after a day in there, he became a downright terror. Martha was wonderful enough to help me keep him busy, asking him questions about treatments and procedures and such. Martha's brilliant. I'm so glad I met her," I gushed, moving my hand from the Doctor's mouth and pulling her into a side hug.

Her mother glanced at us and then at the Doctor and my intertwined hands before giving us a warm smile. "Right."

Just then, Professor Lazarus tapped his glass, bring our attention to him. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am Professor Richard Lazarus, and tonight, I am going to perform a miracle. It is, I believe, the most important advance since Rutherford split the atom, the biggest leap since Armstrong stood on the moon. Tonight you will watch and wonder. Tomorrow, you will wake to a world which will be changed forever." The man went into the machine and a pair of female scientists started up the machine. There was a high-pitched whine as the four columns began to fluctuate and the platform rotate around the chamber as energy was poured into it. A blinding light flashed into the crowd, causing me to squint. As it began to whirl faster, electricity crackling as it did so, causing an alarm to go off.

"Something's wrong. It's overloading." The controls began to spark and then smoke as the technicians attempted to rectify the system. The Doctor and I rushed over to the control system, him with his screwdriver in his hand as he scanned it.

"Somebody stop him. Get him away from those controls."

_'__I'll deal with her. You handle the machine.'_ He nodded and got to work.

"Look, if that thing goes up, the entire building's coming down. He's trying to help and those technicians can barely control the thing. So shut up and stay back." I turned watching as he fiddled with the controls.

_'__Power cord.' _

_'__Right.'_

I watched as he pulled out the cable and the machine slowed to a stop. Martha ran over, joining us. "Get it open!" She went and pulled open the door and a younger Lazarus stumbled out. I quickly stepped back, bumping into one of the guests, a man who shot me a suggestive smile. I rolled my eyes at him and pushed through the crowd, doing my best to get as far away from Lazarus as possible. Every fibre in my body screamed that he was wrong, that he shouldn't exist.

"Ladies and gentlemen… I am Richard Lazarus. I am seventy six years old, and I am reborn!" Everyone in the room burst into applause except for the Doctor, Martha, and me. Whatever he did, would not end well for anyone.

A while later, after the Doctor had found me lounging by the stair, the three of us were standing a good distance away, watching as Lazarus posed for the photographers. "That's can't be the same guy. It's impossible. It must be a trick."

"I wish it were. That's the same man."

"What just happened, then?"

"He just changed what it means to be human."

Unable to be that close to him, I walked away, the Doctor and Martha following me. I had already voiced my concerns to the Time Lord, who had told me he felt the same. Still, he was curious about the man, even if he knew of the process; it was more of _how_ he had accomplished the change. Knowing just how inquisitive he was, I took a deep breath and allowed him to pull me closer to the man. We watched as he stiffened and panted, grabbing a tray off a passing waiter and eating the food it held. The Doctor and I glanced at each other before we started to walk over, hearing the woman gasp at his behaviour. "Richard!"

"I'm famished."

"That would be the energy deficit," I stated, warily eyeing the man. "It tends to happen with this type of process."

_'__I love when you do that.'_

_'__Oh? Maybe I should do that more often then.'_

_'__You should.'_ I smiled at him before turning my full attention to Lazarus.

"You talk as if you see this every day, Miss…"

"Cerys. She's Martha and he's the Doctor."

"And, well, no, not every day. But we have some experience with this kind of transformation."

"That's not possible."

"You were using hypersonic sound waves to create a state of resonance," I replied, bored.

"You understand the theory, then."

"Sure. But you obviously didn't think off all the variables."

"No experiment is entirely without risk." He popped another nibble in his mouth, turning away from us.

"That thing nearly exploded. You might as well have stepped into a blender."

"You're not qualified to comment," Lady Thaw snapped.

"If I hadn't stopped it, it would've exploded."

"Then I thank you, Doctor. But that's a simple engineering issue. What happened inside the capsule was exactly what was supposed to happen. No more, no less."

"You've no way of knowing that until you've run proper tests."

He laughed at Martha's comment. "Look at me. You can see what happened. I'm all the proof you need."

"This device will be properly certified before we start to operate commercially."

"Commercially? You _are_ joking. That'll cause chaos," Martha scoffed.

"Not chaos- change. A chance for humanity to evolve, to improve."

"This isn't about improving. This is about you and your customers living a little longer."

"Not a little longer, Doctor- a lot longer. Perhaps indefinitely."

"Richard, we have things to discuss. Upstairs."

"Goodbye, Doctor. In a few years, you'll look back and laugh at how wrong you were." He reached for my hand but I hastily pulled it from his reach, leaving him to grab Martha's, which he kissed before following with Lady Thaw.

"Oh, he's out of his depth. No idea of the damage he might have done."

"The damage he _has_ done," I clarified.

"So, what do we do now?"

"Now- well, this building must be full of laboratories. I say we do our own tests."

"Lucky I've just collected a DNA sample then, isn't it?"

"Martha, you're brilliant," I told her before we ran off to find a laboratory.

An image of a strand of DNA flashed across a computers screen. I looked at it, waiting for the Doctor to finish up with the microscope. From the computer, I could see exactly what Lazarus had done, the damage his machine did. "Amazing."

"What?"

"Lazarus' DNA."

"I can't see anything different."

"Look at it."

Martha did and turned to us. "Oh my God! Did that just change?" The Doctor and I nodded. "But it can't have."

"It did."

"It's impossible."

"And that's two impossible things we've seen so far tonight. Don't you love it when that happens?"

"Depends on the impossible thing," I answered, my gaze remaining on the screen.

"That means Lazarus has changed his own molecular patterns."

"Hypersonic sound waves to destabilise the cell structure, then a metagenetic programme to manipulate the coding in the protein strands. Basically, he hacked into his own genes and instructed them to rejuvenate."

"But they're still mutating now."

"That's because he activated something in his DNA and it won't let him stabilize. It's trying to change him."

"Change him into what?"

"I don't know, but I think we need to find out."

"That woman said they were going upstairs."

"Let's go," the Doctor said as he led us out of the room.

After going up a flight of stairs, we reached Lazarus' office. "This is his office, all right," Martha stated. It was obvious but it was more for how the office looked, with the antiquities, the sculptures, and the technology.

"So where is he?"

"Don't know. Let's try back at the re…ception." I followed her gaze, seeing a skeletal foot in a heel coming from behind the desk. We ran over, the Doctor crouching down while Martha leaned over it. "Is that Lady Thaw?" Martha asked.

"Used to be. Now it's just a shell. Had all the life energy drained out of her. Like squeezing the juice out of an orange."

"Lazarus."

"Could be."

"So he's changed already."

"Not necessarily. You saw the DNA. It was fluctuating. The process must demand energy. This might not have been enough."

"So he might do this again?"

"Mmm." I nodded at the woman and walked to the lifts, the Doctor and Martha following me and getting in when it arrived. Back in the reception room, the three of us looked around for Lazarus.

"I can't see him."

"He can't be far. Keep looking." I walked off a bit, looking through the crowd. When I saw nothing, I walked over to Martha as Leo did the same.

"Hey, you alright, Marth? I think Mum wants to talk to you."

"Have you seen Lazarus anywhere?"

"Yeah, well, he was getting cosy with Tish a couple minutes ago."

"With Tish!"

"Ah, Doctor."

"Where did they go?" he asked, ignoring Martha's mother.

"Upstairs, I think. Why?"

"Doctor." He grabbed my hand and took off, spilling her drink on her. "I'm speaking to you!"

"Sorry, Mrs. Jones. He has a one tracked mind," I yelled before we got too far. We piled into the lift and the moment the doors opened, we raced out.

* * *

_3/11/2014_

_Hey guys. I'm soooo sorry this is a late update. I swear I wasn't slacking and doing absolutely nothing in respect to the story. I was actually trying to do a Halloween chapter before posting this but I ended up not finishing it in time to post it for the holiday. I will be posting it as it's own story, which I'm sure and hope you all will enjoy. I believe that's all I have to say since I didn't allow myself to watch the new episodes since I didn't reach my deadline for finishing my soon to be published novel. I will have it watched by next Saturday since it is the season finale. Thanks for all the reviews, reads, and follows for the story. I appreciate it so much. _

_P.S. I'll be posting the Halloween chapter hopefully before I post the conclusion for this episode so look for that. It won't be long but it's something. I'm also doing a Fantastic Four story that should be up soonish. Most likely after I get out of school for the semester._

_**dream lighting**: Thanks, I'm so glad you liked the chapter. As for River and Rys... spoilers ;) It'll be a great time though. _

_**NicoleR85**: Glad you loved it. Those were some of my favourite episodes to write actually. They'll definitely be interesting._

_**Squidtastik**: There'll definitely be a lot more of that to come, especially with the upcoming chapters. I will say it was quite good._

_**I'm-a-Klaus-addict**: I did and it made me so happy! That sucks but I'm glad you had fun. Fandom day sounds amazing. I wish we had that when I was in school. Their relationship is definitely developing into something that transcends time and space. The Destroyer will definitely be popping up as the story progresses. Just as the Doctor is incredibly famous, Rys is as well, but that's due to her time in the War. It'll definitely be explained in more detail in a later chapter. As for Halloween, I ended up going to a party. I was thinking of being Amy but I decided to be Nancy from The Craft. If you haven't seen it, you should totally check it out. It was an awesome movie. Mind you, it's horror so if you aren't a fan of those, probably don't watch it, haha. What were your Halloween plans? _

_**Takara Matsudaira**: More of that to come, I swear to it. Yeah, Rys is pretty set on staying in her room and keeping it. It's more of wanting to keep the human part of her, and remember her times with Rose. That's actually extremely true. Honestly, if I see the film in the theatres, I end up forgetting names and if I watch it at home, I end up skipping the credits. I definitely understand trying to figure out characteristics that go with the name. I definitely don't mind waiting to read your story. As for Rose, I've heard a lot of reasons as to why she's disliked but after a while she grows on you. Happened to me with Martha. Yes! And now with Twelve, he's back in black. Which episode is that? Is it the one where she's basically The Doctor or the one with the kids?_

_**shadow-kissed angel**: Thanks so much. _

_**margie-me**: Haha, thanks. I usually don't get much sleep due to insomnia so I spend that time writing until I can no longer keep my eyes open. It's a great system for getting work done. Art is amazing. I've dabbled but I'm such a perfectionist that I end up getting irritated when it doesn't come out how I'd like. As crazy as this sounds, maybe record your ideas so you could always listen to them and go back to it? But if art is your forte, go for it wholeheartedly. It's horrible that your cousin lost your comic . It was something you put a crazy amount of effort and time into it only to be lost. But I hope you get that spark again and one of these days we'll see your work all over the place. I do too but I've now started looking into transferring universities so that's another block atop my load. But I only have a few more weeks of classes left so once winter break hits, I'll be free to write everything my heart desires. The Doctor and Rys definitely are and they get better as the story progresses. _


	45. Confronting the Mutation

"Where are they?"

"Fluctuating DNA will give off an energy signature. I might be able to pick it up." He held up his sonic screwdriver, scanning the building. "Got him."

"Where?" The Doctor pointed up. "But this is the top floor… The roof!"

When we reached the roof, we found him and Tish speaking. Lazarus was quoting T.S. Eliot. As he reached the end of the end, the Doctor nudged me, mentally asking me to finish it. I groaned while he just smirked at me. "Falls the Shadow."

"So the alluring Rys knows her Eliot. I'm impressed."

I crossed my arms, impassive and slightly offended. "And why's that Lazarus?"

"Martha, what are you doing here?"

"Tish, get away from him."

"What? Don't tell me what to do." I rolled my eyes at the siblings.

"I wouldn't have thought you had time for poetry, Lazarus, what with you being busy defying the laws of nature and all."

"You're right, Doctor. One lifetime's been too short for me to do everything I'd like. How much more I'll get done in two or three or four."

"Doesn't work like that. Some people live more in twenty years than others do in eighty. It's not the time that matters, it's the person."

"But if it's the right person, what a gift that would be."

"No, it's more of a curse. Look at yourself, Lazarus. Look at what you've done."

"Who are you to judge me?"

"Over here, Tish."

"You have to spoil everything, don't you? Every time I find someone nice, you have to go and find fault."

All of us, besides Tish, watched as Lazarus twitched and fell to the floor. "Tish, he's a monster!"

"I know the age thing's a bit freaky, but it works for Catherine Zeta-Jones." I heard the girl say. I shook my head, almost wanting to tell the girl off for being such a moron. She finally realised something was wrong when she heard him growl. My eyes widened as I saw what he had changed into; a horrific looking, scorpion like creature that seemed to be just the skeleton. "What is that?"

"Just run!" I yelled as we ran back into the building. Pulling out the Doctor's sonic, I locked the door and followed the others down the stairs.

"Are you okay?" Martha asked her sister.

"I was gonna snog him." I rolled my eyes, shifting uneasily on my feet as we stood by the lifts, with Lazarus banging on the door and the lights flickering. With all the banging Lazarus was doing, I realising that the lift wouldn't come in time, or if it did we would be trapped in it.

**"****Security one. Security one. Security one."** Suddenly the lights died and the doors closed.

"What's happening?"

"An intrusion. It triggers a security lockdown, kills most of the power, stops the lifts, seals the exits."

"He must be breaking through that door." The Doctor looked around. "The stairs. Come on!" We ran into the stairwell, hearing a crashing sound and a growl.

"He's inside!"

"We haven't got much time!" he exclaimed as we ran down the stairs to the reception room. "Tish, is there another way out of here?"

"There's an exit in the corner, but it'll be locked now."

"Martha, setting fifty four. Hurry." He tossed her the sonic before running onto the platform. "Listen to me! You people are in serious danger! You need to get out of here right now!"

As woman in a gold dress stared at him, scoffing. "Don't be ridiculous. The biggest danger here is choking on an olive."

"Mind telling him that," I snapped as a mutated Lazarus jumped off the mezzanine, smashing a table, roaring. Around us people panicked. I watched as his tail sent a table flying at Leo as Lazarus advanced on the woman who was frozen in her spot. He opened his mouth, bringing his tail to her, revealing another mouth.

"No! Get away from her!" The Doctor moved towards the two but I pulled him back, seeing that it was too late. Not a second later, the corpse fell, after being sucked dry. Lazarus then turned to Francine and Leo.

"Oi! Leave them alone," I yelled before throwing a glass at him. Lazarus turned to the Doctor and me.

"What's the point? You can't control it. The mutation's too strong. Killing those people won't help you. You're a fool. A vain old man who thought he could defy nature." The Doctor laughed, humourlessly, grabbing my hand.

"Nature had plans of her own, Lazarus. You've become a joke, a failure. Look in the dictionary. You're name's right next to the word. Was it worth it? Becoming what nature rejected?" The Doctor and I backed away, turning and running down a corridor with Lazarus following. We ran until we reached the basement, clambering among pipes, trying to make our way through as quietly as possible.

"It's no good. You can't stop me."

"Is that the same arrogance you had when you swore nothing had gone wrong with your device?"

"The arrogance is yours. You can't stand in the way of progress."

"You call this progress? You're feeding off people!"

"It is a necessary sacrifice."

"That's not your decision to make."

The two of us hid behind a large section of piping, him holding me, our breathing silent. Every instinct told me that he was wrong, that he shouldn't exist. Lazarus, as brilliant as he was, in the end was an arrogant fool. Admittedly, he _did_ change what it meant to be human but his reasoning was wrong. He just wanted to live on, keep his customers and make more money. His reasons were selfish. He didn't value human life, he was a parasite. "Peek-a-boo." We looked up to see him hanging from the ceiling.

"Oh. Hello," the Doctor replied before pulling me down and out another corridor until we reached the laboratory level. Rushing into one, he jumped onto a bench and started to take a light fitting apart, after removing the bulb. Seeing his plan, I turned on a Bunsen burner and snuffed the flame. Watching as he jumped down, he pulled a tube off a gas fitting and we hid behind a different bench.

"More hide and seek, Doctor? How disappointing." He seemed to be looking for us, forcing things off the desks in his mission. "Why don't you come out and face me?" The Doctor turned on a much gas as possible.

"Have you looked in the mirror lately? Why would I want to face that, hmm? Now, Rys' face… I could look at it for eternity." I felt my cheeks heat up a bit and made a mental note to kiss him for that comment. Grabbing his arm, I pulled him out the room, him flicking the light switch, causing an explosion in the room. The force from the blast pushed us to the ground and we were covered in shattered glass and debris. Getting back onto our feet, we took off down the corridor and ended up bumping into Martha. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm returning this. I thought you might need it."

"How did you…"

"I heard the explosion. I guessed it was you."

"I blasted Lazarus."

"Did you kill him?"

"No, more like annoyed him," I answered as we took off again, seeing Lazarus jumping towards our landing. This time we found ourselves in the reception area.

"What now?" We've just gone 'round in a circle."

"We can't lead him outside. Come on! Get in!" We all shuffled into the sonic microfield manipulator chamber, the Doctor slamming the door behind us. We could hear Lazarus outside, circling the contraption.

"Are we hiding?"

"No, he knows we're here, but this is his masterpiece. I'm betting he won't destroy it, not even to get at us."

"But we're trapped!"

"Well… yeah, that is a slight problem."

"You mean you don't have a plan?"

"Yes. The plan was to get inside here."

"Then what?"

"Well, then I'd come up with another plan."

"In your own time, then." He moved around a bit. "Hey!"

"Sorry, sorry, sorry. Rys, would you mind?" I reached into his pocket and pulled out the sonic screwdriver. "Thanks. Here we are."

"What're you going to do with that?"

"Improvise." He slid down and opened a small panel on the floor, working with the wires and processors.

"I still don't understand where that thing came from. Is it alien?"

"Nope. It's human this time 'round."

"Human? How can it be human?"

"Probably from dormant genes in Lazarus' DNA. The energy field in this thing must've reactivated them. And it looks like they're becoming dominant."

"So it's a throwback?"

"Some option that evolution rejected for you millions of years ago, but the potential is still there, locked away in your genes, forgotten about until Lazarus unlocked it by mistake."

"It's like Pandora's Box."

"Exactly." Suddenly there was a sound coming from the machine and the light within it came on.

"Doctor, what's happening?"

"Sounds like he switched the machine on."

"And that's not good, is it?"

"Well, I was hoping it was going to take him a little bit longer to work that out."

"I don't want to hurry you, but…"

"I know, I know. Nearly done.

Apologising to Martha, I bent down and plucked the sonic from the Doctor's hand. "You, stand. You're taking too long." He stood, giving me the space I needed to finish rewiring the machine.

"What are you doing?"

I stood, finished with my work. "I set the capsule to reflect energy. We'll be fine."

"Will that kill him?"

"When he transforms, he's three times his size- cellular triplication- so he's spreading himself thin."

"We're going to end up like end up like him!"

"No. I've taken care of that," I replied just before the machine stopped, and upon hearing a crash, we exited the chamber.

"I thought we were going to go through the blender then."

"Really shouldn't take that long just to reverse the polarity. I must be a bit out of practice."

"What ever would you do without me?" We chuckled before looking down at a naked Lazarus.

"Oh, God. He seems so human again. It's kind of pitiful."

"Eliot saw that, too. This is the way the world ends- not with a bang, but with a whimper." I nodded and the three of us walked outside as the paramedics carried Lazarus away and placed him in the ambulance. A minute or so later, Martha's family joined us, Tish and Leo hugging her.

"She's here. Oh, she's alright."

"Ah, Mrs Jones. We still haven't finished our chat."

Mrs. Jones rounded on him, slapping him quiet hard across the face. I looked from her to him, not entirely sure what to make of what had happened. "Keep away from my daughter."

"Mum, what are you doing?"

I turned him to me, inspecting his now red cheek. "All of the mothers, every time." I chuckled and kissed his cheek.

"Better?"

"No. Could you?"

"Later. Once we sort this out."

"They're dangerous. I've been told things."

"What are you talking about?"

"Look around you. Nothing but death and destruction. Especially her." I looked up at the woman, wondering who exactly she had spoken to. I sighed and pulled the Doctor off to the side, away from the family. Some part of me felt that she was right. Death and destruction did tend to be a constant theme and we weren't the safest to be around. It seemed the Doctor more so since no one really knew of my past but if the facts were stated, I would be considered a monster. A creature of nightmares compared to the Daleks.

_'__You were forced to do that, Rys. You had no choice.'_

_'__There's always a choice! I should have just let them kill me.'_

_'__Then we wouldn't have had a second chance. No matter what you did, I'll always love you. I always have.'_

_'__Even then?'_

_'__Even then.'_ I nodded, about to speak when there was a crash. Looking at each other, we ran off to investigate.

Reaching the ambulance, we found it's back doors were forced open and the gaunt remains of the two paramedics. I sadly shook my head, feeling as if I should have known that wasn't the end. He should have reverted to an old man but he still looked young. "Well, this is just fantastic."

"Lazarus-back from the dead. Should have known really," the Doctor said, scanning around for Lazarus.

"Where's he gone?"

"That way. The church."

"Cathedral. It's Southwark Cathedral. He told me," Tish said. I looked at her, wondering what the girl was doing with us but said nothing as we walked towards the building. She could be of some help, although I really didn't think we needed another person to worry about.

"Do you think he's in here?" Martha asked as we walked inside.

"Where would you go if you were looking for sanctuary?" We cautiously walked up the nave to the alter, finding Lazarus hunched over behind it, shivering even though he was wrapped in the red blanket.

"I came here before. A lifetime ago. I thought I was going to die then. In fact, I was sure of it. I sat here… just a child. The sound of planes and bombs outside."

"The Blitz."

"You've read about it."

"We were there."

He scoffed. "You're too young."

"So are you."

Lazarus laughed, his body making a cracking sound. "In the morning, the fires had died, but I was still alive. I swore I'd never face death like that again. So defenceless. I would arm myself, fight back, defeat it."

"That's what you were trying to do today?"

"That's what I _did_ today," he corrected.

"And what about the people you killed?"

"They were nothing. I changed the course of history."

"Nothing? Who are you to determine that? They could have changed history as well. And if you even think, you did anything for history, you didn't. All you've done was show how much a failure you were, Lazarus, what _not_ to do."

"And what would you know about history, _child_?"

"I'm a lot older than you, Lazarus and my temper is not as controlled as the Doctor's."

I felt the Doctor's hand grab mine, calming me. "You think history's only made with equations? Facing death is part of being human. You can't change that."

"No, Doctor. Avoiding death- that's being human. It's our strongest impulse, to cling to life with every fibre of being I'm only doing what everyone before me has tried to do. I've simply been more… successful." He cried out in pain as his bones cracked again.

"Look at yourself. You're mutating. You've no control over it. You call that a success?"

"I call it progress. I'm more now than I was. More than just an ordinary human."

"There's no such thing as an ordinary human," the Doctor said before Lazarus began to convulse.

"He's going to change again, any minute."

"I know. If I can get him up into the bell tower somehow, I've an idea that might work."

"Up there?"

"You're so sentimental, Doctor. Maybe you _are_ older than you look."

"I'm old enough to know that a longer life isn't always a better one. In the end, you just get tired- tired of the struggle, tired of losing everyone that matters to you… tired of watching everything turn to dust. If you live long enough, Lazarus, the only certainty left is that you'll end up alone."

"That's a price worth paying."

"Is it?"

His bones crunched again. "I will feed soon."

"We're not going to let that happen."

"You've not been able to stop me so far."

"Leave him, Lazarus. He's old and bitter. I thought you had a taste for fresher meat."

"Martha, no." Lazarus lunged for Martha who ran.

"Tish, stay with him. I'll keep Martha safe." I gave the Doctor a quick peck and ran after the girl.

"What are you doing?"

"Keeping you safe."

_'__Go to the tower.'_

_'__What are you doing?!'_

_'__I can keep her safe better than most. Just go to the tower, Theta.'_

_'__Don't get hurt.'_

_'__Yeah, because I was just __**going**__ to let Lazarus catch me,'_ I replied sarcastically as Martha and I ran up the narrow spiral staircase. I turned to look back, seeing that Lazarus had stopped.

"He's changing again. We have to keep moving. We have to lead him up."

"I know that, Martha. Save your breath and run."

"Rys! Martha!"

Martha looked down from the passageway. "Doctor!"

"Take him to the top. The very top of the bell tower. Do you hear me?"

"Up to the top! Then what?"

"Martha, we have to move. He's coming," I said as Lazarus barrelled towards us. To keep from being killed, I grabbed her arm and pulled her away until we were under the big Peter bell.

"There's nowhere else to go!"

"Martha, we're where we're supposed to be. Look, just stand behind me."

"What are you going to do?"

"Ladies."

"Nothing. Just stand between you and Lazarus. While he's busy with me, run."

"Why?"

"Shut up and do it. All right?" I saw the girl nod just as Lazarus tried to clamber across the gap instead of around the wooden frame. He began to lash out with his tail, trying to strike me. I shoved Martha backwards before ducking to evade his blow. Yet the second time I managed to catch his tail and use it to propel myself onto the air and on top of him.

"Get off me."

"Shut up," I replied as I kicked his head and quickly jumped off behind him. He turned, again using his tail. I expertly dodged his attack as the Doctor played. He lashed out again, this time catching me as I was regaining my footing. The force threw me over the railing, with just enough space for me to grab onto the wooden walkway.

"Rys!" Martha ran over and grabbed my wrist. "Stay away from her," she ordered as Lazarus advanced onto us, trying to stab me with his tail.

"I thought I told you to run."

"The Doctor would kill me if I left you." I smirked, cringing as the notes continued, at a much louder volume, hurting not only Lazarus but making it harder for me to keep my grip on the railing. I could feel my grip slipping but I kept my hold, watching as Lazarus stumbled and fell, crashing to the cathedral floor with a thud. The Doctor stopped playing to my content and I let Martha help me up.

"Rys? Martha?"

"We're both okay!" Martha yelled.

"Thank you."

"What for?"

"Staying. I'd probably be dead if you'd run." She smiled at me and we both made our way back downstairs where we found the Doctor standing over an elderly Lazarus. The moment he saw us, he walked over, taking me in an almost bone crushing hug. "I'm fine. Promise."

"Don't do that again."

"So it's alright for _you_ to risk your life but not me?"

"I just want you safe."

"Tough."

"So," Martha started, trying to diffuse the tension that had built up. "I didn't know you could play?"

"Oh, well, you know, if you hang around with Beethoven, you're bound to pick a few things up."

"Hmm. Especially about playing loud." I chuckled, thankful for her distraction. The Doctor and I could have went on for ages, both of us being stubborn and all.

"Sorry?" he asked, shaking his ear.

Fifteen minutes later, we were back at Martha's. I leant against the Tardis as the Doctor unlocked the door. Martha looked a bit sad, seeing that we were about to leave and I felt a bit contrite, but not much. If anything I was more irritated with the Doctor. This entire time, he'd been on a one trip kick with her and she didn't deserve that; to never know when the adventure would end. After everything Martha's done, she was already his companion. He was just too damn stubborn to see it. Then again, he had forgotten all about that, already considering her a companion, even if he hadn't realized it. "Something else that kind of escalated, then."

"I can see a pattern developing. You should take more care in the future. And the past and whatever other time period you find yourself in."

"It's good fun, though. Isn't it?"

"Yeah," Martha replied, chuckling.

"So what do you say? One more trip?"

"No. Sorry."

"What do you mean? I thought you liked it."

"I do, but I can't go on like this. 'One more trip'. It's not fair."

"What're you talking about?"

"I don't want to be just a passenger anymore. Someone you take along for a treat. If that's how you still see me, I'd rather stay here."

"Okay then. If that's what you want."

"Right. But we've already said goodbye once today. It's probably best if you just go." She turned her back to us, walking off but we stood there. While I could hear the hurt in her voice, I couldn't keep the smile off my face as I waited for her to turn back around. When she did, she looked at me, confusion written on her face as to what I was smiling about and why we hadn't left. "What is it?"

"He said okay, Martha."

"Sorry?"

"Okay," he replied, nodding towards the Tardis.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you!" She went and hugged him.

"You really weren't just a passenger, Martha. Always been a bit daft, this one. Come on then, back into the Tardis. Off for another adventure," I said as I walked in, leaving them to follow. When they finally got inside, I put the Tardis into the Time Vortex and sat in the captain's chair, listening as the two talked.

Fifteen minutes later, I left the console room and went to my room. After closing the door, I laid on the floor, looking at the stars scattered along my ceiling. It was peaceful, a nice way to relax after a stressful night and a near death experience. I couldn't help but think of Lazarus though. He had done all of that, just to stay alive. It was so… human of him. Still, I couldn't really get past him being okay with killing people. It made me think of the lengths people would go to just to have a long life. But the Doctor was right about a long one not being better. If he had died, I wouldn't have been able to keep on going. I had left him when I escaped Gallifrey all those years ago, abandoned him. Granted, I thought he was dead but I should have died myself. We were connected and to live without the other, it was harder than anything. When I was told he'd died, it ate at me constantly, the knowledge that my husband no, my ame soeur (it was so amazing to think that again), was dead and that I couldn't have anyone. That was another reason I used the Chameleon Arch. I wanted to forget, about him, Kiere, and all I'd been through while on Gallifrey. I just wanted to be free of it all. Death was hard to come by, with me being born of two very long living and surviving races, but I tried, even using methods that were _known_ to kill instantly, most of them disabling regeneration. None of it worked so I did the only thing I could and made myself forget. Although at the time, I was furious about it, I'm glad it worked out, and that he was still alive and that I was as well… even if I was slightly volatile and mentally fucked as a human. We were getting a second chance and for that, I'm grateful. I only wish that Kiere were given that chance as well.

* * *

_9/11/2014_

_Hey all, so I am finally updating... YAY! I was going to update Friday but I ended up finally getting some sleep all day after work. While it might come off as lazy but I barely get enough sleep as it is so yeah, that's what happened. And I finally caught up on the episodes I missed and OMG! They were great, as was the finale, that I finally got my dad to watch with me. I had no idea who Missy was until it was revealed. I have to rewatch it all since I missed the whole Danny thing and whatnot. I was trying to to freak my dad out too much while watching the episode and missed a few things since he was playing around with my cat during it. Killed my concentration. But with the season being over, I should have a better update schedule (Tues/Thurs) most likely. It might take a while since I'm getting sick (again) and even at the beginning, it's pretty bad. But I'm doing everything to kill it before it gets too crazy. With that said, onto the reviews. I know I always say this every chapter, but I really do appreciate every read, follow, and review I get. _

_**BurnedSpy:** I was the same way with Martha at first but now I love her, not as much as a certain ginge but I do love her. But the story has now been updated :)_

_**NicoleR85:** Your request has been granted. Glad you've stuck around. It makes me so happy. _

_**margie-me:** __Haven't changed the mum slap, just delayed it a tad. That's so true! I think the Doctor would literally be slapped into another two regenerations after that competition. With her mum, I think it's more about what Clive (Martha's dad) did to her. She's still bitter about being left for a younger woman. It had nothing to do with the Doctor in general but her overall anger with being jaded by the man she had three children with. _

_After a long while and after rewatching it a bit, I fell in love with Martha. It was how she was so different from Rose in her intelligence and how she looked at things. She was frightened but because she was basically a doctor herself, she was calm under the pressure and take it as a grain of salt as Rose did. She saw the danger in travelling with the Doctor. _

_Haha, that was the plan. Oh, Mister Saxon has a lot coming for him during that arc. I did finally watch it and yes! He looked absolutely petrified. It was great. Yeah, that's one of the main things I dislike about BBC America. It does repeat shows, just not at the best times unfortunately. I've kind of given up on watching anything DW related on the channel and just hit Netflix when I'm ready for a nostalgia tour. But there are some websites that have all the episodes. And no problem at all. :)_

_**Squidtastik:** I know right! _

_**I'm-a-Klaus-addict:** Same. I'm trying to spread the movie on to people I know. But same here, I adore Nancy. As for trick or treating, I've never been unfortunately. My mum never let my siblings or me out for that day. But definitely milk it while you can. Sorry but after reading that you're down to five pieces of candy and a toothbrush, I had to laugh. That's literally sounds like me on a daily basis. _

_As for Rys, she passed her test and but before she could get a Tardis of her own, her parents disappeared, she had her child, the Doctor left, and she was left to face the Time War alone. She was nowhere near friends with the Master. He basically was one of the main people who tortured her in the Academy and continued to do so after the Doctor left, until he in the war. He was a lot worse than Rassilon and the council in terms of treating her. But that'll come up later in the story. _

_And yes! When I learned about that I lost it. My dad literally came into my room to check on me because i was cursing so much. When I told him, he just shook his head and walked away. But as a character, I love the Master and I'm so glad what happened happened. Yet for the finale, I wish they'd thought to bring in River towards the end to handle her man. I just want River back in general actually. But yeah. _

_**Takara Matsudaira:** We actually just get together and plan come to the agreement to do so, lolz. To be honest, I'm an avid reader as well. I've been reading mainly DW fics. I particularly enjoy the ones where the OC jumps around the Doctor's timeline. They're great since I don't have to wait long to get to the next incarnation of the Doctor and it's nice to see the changes that occur in the Whoverse. _

_As time (or the story) progresses, there will definitely be more about their relationship. She did find out about the Doctor's kiss with Martha. She basically made sure he knew that **he was hers**. It was something I wanted to be solidified since Rys is and has finally let her inhibitions pertaining to her relationship with him and how she sees herself in general. I was hoping to show the change within her from what had been revealed of her previous incarnations, her time as a human, and her current self. Ah, telepathic conversations continue to happen but I think it's just mentioned in the future chapters, I think. Don't hold me on that, haha. _

_Donna and Amy were mine. Clara is great, though, I will admit that. But I loved that episode so much. It was great, one of my favourites actually. I would love to hear your ideas and concepts and don't mind at all. With classes ending in the next few weeks, I won't be too busy so I'll definitely be able to help out the best and most as I can. Trust me, I definitely don't feel that way. Trust me on that. I do the same with my other writer friends on a daily basis so it's literally no trouble at all. Can't wait to hear them. :]_

_**Muirgen79:** Thanks, so glad you're enjoying the story. I always wanted him to have someone like that in the show but now he does in my story. _


	46. 42

_"You will help us. There's nothing left for you. Your child is dead. The Doctor is dead. Join us and we will remove all memories of them. All of your pain will cease to exist."_

_"I'll never aid you! He was just a child… only 167 and you murdered him! So tell me, Rassilon, what does that make you?"_

_"A hero. I've destroyed another abomination."_

_"He was NOT an abomination. But, if that is the case, why am I still alive?"_

_"We know of your abilities. They will help us win the war."_

_"I won't do it."_

_"I will break you. You will become the Destroyer."_

_"I refuse so just kill me."_

_"Death would be too easy." He turned from me. "Take her to the radiation chamber. Give her the highest dosage. Let us see if it kills her."_

_"You're a monster Rassilon!" I screamed as I was dragged away, only to be thrown into the room. I stood in the centre of the room defiant as they turned on the machine. They knew nothing of my biology, that I could withstand even the deadliest of radiation, and they were about to figure it out. Watching as they flipped a switch, I felt the room flood with radiation, a yelp escaping me as it hit my body. I saw a satisfied grin cross Rassilon's face and decided not to give into his means, not to show any pain._

Sitting up in my bed, I saw the Doctor lying next to me. I couldn't help but smile at how peaceful he looked, even after my nightmare. Although we didn't need much sleep, he had been getting less of it. I wasn't entirely sure as to why but I was content just to see him sleeping. Inching out of bed, I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist and pull me back. I giggled as I laid onto him. "You should be sleeping."

"How can I when my wife's sneaking out of bed."

"I didn't want to wake you."

"I sleep better with you beside me." I smiled at him. "Won't you reconsider?"

"Theta…"

"I know."

"Oh, do you?"

"You're smirking. Why?"

"I just like this, waking up beside you. We didn't get to do much of it on Gallifrey, with you always travelling and Kiere usually sleeping between us. This is nice."

"He wanted to be with his mum."

"And I wanted to be with his dad," I chuckled before turning serious. "Am I- Is this a better version of me?" I felt him sit up and turn me to face him.

"What do you mean?"

"Am I better than I was on Gallifrey?"

"You're still you Ceryssida. This incarnation of you is… happier than your first, yes. But there was _never_ anything wrong with you. It was just how you were treated. If I remember correctly, you were always a bit shy and quiet. After centuries of being beat down and bullied, of course you'd end up as you did."

"I don't really think I'm very quiet or shy anymore."

"That's all right with me. I tried so hard to get you out of that when we were children and look at you now. You've changed so much but remained the same. You'll always be my beautiful Ceryssida."

"I'm pretty sure Rose had a bit to do with it."

"But _I_ started the whole thing."

"Yes, you did. I never thanked you for that, you know."

"You agreed to marry me. That was enough of a thank you."

I smiled and kissed him. "That was for yesterday." I then gave him two more. "And for just now." I then jumped out of the bed and pointed to the door. "Out please."

"Not this time. I could use a shower myself."

"Theta…"

"It's been ages." He stood, putting an arm around my shoulder. "Come on then."

"I can't believe I'm doing this. I really like _my_ showers."

"It can be _our_ shower this time." He began to strip, quickly pulling off his shirt and facing me. My eyes slowly took in his appearance before I brought they met his. "You aren't going in clothed, are you?" I rolled my eyes and also took off my clothes, contemplating whether or not I should grab my towel. "If it makes you more comfortable, I'll go in first."

"Shut up, Theta," I said, forgetting the towel and walking past him and into the already hot shower. A moment later, he stepped in.

"That was, um, nice." I chuckled as I dried myself off, working the towel from around my body and to my hair.

"Was it?"

"We should do that more often."

"I'll think about it."

"Oh, no. We are doing that more often."

"I don't mind it. Showering alone isn't _quite_ as fun as with you, I'll admit that." I turned and faced him, seeing him beam. Then I noticed his pants. "Where did you get the clothes?"

"Huh?"

"Those are different pants. Have you been leaving clothes in here?"

"Maybe."

"You're unbelievable, you know that, right?"

"I do," he replied, grabbing my hips and pulling me to him, hungrily attacking my lips. When we pulled apart, I went and put on a green lace tank top, black jeans, brown combat boots and his old leather jacket. Facing him, I saw he was dressed as well and just staring at me. I raised my eyebrow in question as I tied up my hair. "I do love you in that jacket."

"I know."

"I mean, really, I do."

"I know. I can see just how much. Oh, and how much you want to rip it off me." I saw his cheeks flush as I chuckled, watching him try to control his thoughts. "It's alright. I want to do the same with you." I smiled, reaching for an extremely familiar sea shell necklace and placing it around my neck.

"Is that…" I nodded, not giving him a chance to answer. I hadn't worn the necklace since I'd changed back and it felt wonderful to have it on, to feel that I deserved to wear it again. Seeing him reach for me, I moved out of his grasp, giggling as I left the room. I knew exactly what he had on his mind and if I had let him, we would have never left my room. I knocked on Martha's door as I made my way to the console room, the Doctor grumbling behind me. Smiling, I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and walked off, thinking of the perfect place to go.

Five minutes later Martha had joined us and the Doctor was using his sonic on her mobile. I sat in the jump seat, watching them after I had put in the coordinates. We were still in the Time Vortex, the Doctor, not entirely sure whether or not he wanted to go where I had planned; it was more that he didn't want to bring Martha with us as it was more of a private place for us. I smiled, knowing that he wanted to go but wanted it to be just him and me, no companion tagging along. "Ah, there we go- universal roaming. Never have to worry about a signal again." He tossed the phone at her and she expertly caught it.

"No way. This is too mad! You're telling me I can phone anyone, anywhere in space and time on my mobile?"

"Sure, just as long as you know the area code."

"Frequent flier's privilege. Go on, try it." As she went to do so, the Tardis shuddered. I jumped up and ran to the console, hearing a beeping coming from the monitor. "Distress signal. Locking on!" He grabbed hold of a lever and propped his foot onto the console. I was on the opposite side, pressing buttons, doing my best to aid the situation. "Might be a bit of-" we were knocked to the floor. "Turbulence. Sorry. Come on, Martha. Let's take a look!" I stood, brushing myself off and walked outside with the two where we were hit a glowing red room and steam.

_'You alright?'_

_'It takes more than your flying to hurt me, Theta.'_

_'Oi! My piloting is just fine.'_

I chose to ignore that comment. _'You're okay though, right?'_

_'Never better with you by my side.'_

_'You're so cheesy.'_

**"Automated distress signal transmitted."**

"Whoa! Now, that is hot."

**"Automated distress signal transmitted."**

"Whuff! It's like a sauna in here."

"Venting systems. Working at full pelt, trying to cool down, uh, wherever it is we are. Well, if you can't stand the heat-" the Doctor opened a bulkhead and Martha followed. I looked between the Tardis and the door uneasily before stepping out myself, seeing three people, two men and a woman, rushing to us.

"Oi, you three!"

"Get out of there!"

"Seal that door now!"

"Who are you? What are you doing on my ship?"

"Are you police?"

"Why would we be the police?"

"We got your distress signal."

"If this is a ship, why can't I hear any engines?"

"It went dead four minutes ago."

"So maybe we should stop chatting and get to engineering, Captain."

An alarm began to sound. **"Secure closure active."**

"What?"

"The ship's gone mad."

Another woman ran to us, the bulkheads shutting behind her. "Who activated secure closure? I nearly got locked in to area twenty-seven." The final bulkhead shut. "Who are you?"

"He's the Doctor, she's Rys, and I'm Martha. Hello."

**"Impact projection forty two minutes twenty-seven seconds."**

"We'll get out of this, I promise."

"Doctor. Rys." I looked at Martha, to see her looking out a porthole.

"Forty two minutes until what?"

"Doctor! Look." He continued to ignore her. Rolling my eyes, I made my way over to the woman, and looked out the window, seeing a bright red sun.

_'Theta, you might want to see this.'_

_'Two ticks.'_

"Forty two minutes until we crash into the sun."

_'Now!'_ He looked at me, coming over to look out the porthole as well, seeing a massive yellow fusion reactor.

I turned away from the transom and brought my attention to the captain. "How many crew members?" I asked.

"Seven, including us."

"We transport cargo across the galaxy. Everything's automated. We just keep the ship space-worthy."

"Call the others. I'll get you out!" the Doctor exclaimed as he ran to the door we'd come through.

"What's he doing?"

"Doctor, don't!"

The Doctor opened the door and was knocked down by a blast of heat. The girl who had recently joined us put on a welder's mask and closed the door. I went and helped the Doctor up. "But our ship's in there!"

"In the vent chamber?"

"It's our lifeboat."

"It's lava."

"No. The ship's fine, Doctor. She can survive anything." He nodded holding me to him.

"The temperature's going mad in there. Up three thousand degrees in ten seconds, and still rising."

"Channelling the air. The closer we get to the sun, the hotter that room's going to get."

"We're stuck here."

"So, we fix the engines, we steer the ship away from the sun. Simple. Engineering down here, is it?" He took off running down the corridor, leaving the rest of us to follow.

"Yes."

**"Impact in forty twenty six."**

When we reached Engineering, we saw the state it was in. it seemed as if it were done deliberately. From the moment we landed, I had a bad feeling about the place, like something was going to happen to us. Whatever was going on around this ship, it was purposefully done and it wasn't finished. "Blimey! Do you always leave things in such a mess?"

"Oh my God."

"What the hell happened?" The engine was practically destroyed, with bits and pieces scattered around the place.

"Ah, it's wrecked."

"Quite efficiently, if I might say. Whoever did this knew what they were doing."

"Where's Korwin? Has anyone seen him or Ashton?"

"No."

"Do you mean someone did this on purpose?" I nodded at Martha's question as I watched the captain, McDonnell, go to the intercom.

"Korwin, Ashton? Where are you? Korwin, can you answer? Where the hell is he? He should be up here."

The Doctor, who had made his way to a monitor, turned to Martha and me, smiling. "Oh, we're in the Torajii system. Lovely. You're a long way from home, Martha- half a universe away."

"Yeah. Feels it."

"Sorry, but why are you using energy scoops for fusion? They were banned."

McDonnell glanced at one of the crew members before answering my question. "We're due to upgrade next docking," she replied before returning to her work. "Scannell, engine report." I watched her suspiciously, not sure whether I believed her or not.

Scannell, the man she'd shared a gaze with went over to the monitor, trying to get the report. "No response."

"What?"

He ran towards the back of the room. "They're burnt out. The controls are wrecked. I can't get them back online."

"Oh, come on! Auxiliary engines. Every craft's got auxiliaries."

"We don't have access from here. The auxiliary controls are in the front of the ship."

"Yeah, with twenty nine password-sealed doors between us and them, you'll never get there on time."

"Can't you override the doors?"

"No. 'Sealed closure' means what it says. They're all dead-lock sealed."

"So a sonic screwdriver's no use."

"Nothing's any use. We've got no engines, no time, and no chance."

"Oh, listen to you. Defeated before you've even started. Where's your Dunkirk spirit? Who's got the door passwords?"

"They're randomly generated. Reckon I know most of them. Sorry. Riley Vashti."

"Then what are you waiting form Riley Vashti? Get on it."

He turned and began to retrieve the equipment. "Well, it's a two person job- one, to take this for the questions, and the other to carry this. The oldest and cheapest security system around, eh, Captain?"

"Reliable and simple, just like you, eh, Riley?"

Riley put on a massive backpack. "Try and be helpful, get abuse. Nice."

"I'll help you. Make myself useful."

"It's remotely controlled by the computer panel. That's why it needs two."

"Oi. Be careful."

"You too. The both of you." I nodded.

As they walked off, the comm. came to life. "McDonnell. It's Ashton."

"Where are you? Is Korwin with you?"

"Get to the med-centre now!" The Doctor, McDonnell, and I raced to med bay, rushing past Martha and Riley.

**"Impact in thirty four thirty one."**

Reaching the med centre, we saw a man and woman trying to hold down who I assumed to be Korwin, trying to put him in a stasis chamber. I stopped at the door and the Doctor and McDonnell walked in, feeling almost a heat radiating from the man. Tentatively, I stepped inside, taking the Doctor's hand for a bit of comfort.

"Korwin! What's happened? Is he okay?"

"Ah, Kath, help me! It's burning me!"

"How long has he been like this?"

"Ashton just brought him in." The Doctor nodded and scanned the man with the sonic. "What are you doing?"

"Don't get too close."

"Don't be so stupid! That's my husband."

"And he's just sabotaged our ship."

"What?"

"He went mad. He put the ship onto secure closure, then he set the heat pulse to melt the controls."

"No way! He wouldn't do that."

"I saw it happen, Captain."

"Korwin? Korwin, open your eyes for me a second."

"I can't!"

"Yeah, course you can. Go on."

"Don't make me look at you! Please!"

The Doctor picked up a hypogun from the medical tray. "All right, all right, all right. Just relax." He turned to the woman. "Sedative?"

"Yes." The Doctor then sedated Korwin.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Rising body temperature, unusual energy readings. Stasis chamber! I do love a good stasis chamber. Keep him sedated in there, regulate the body temperature." Abi nodded and went to work. "And, just for fun, run a bio-scan, a tissue profile, and a metabolic detail."

"Just doing them now."

"Oh, you're good. Anyone else presenting these symptoms?"

"Not so far."

"Well, that's something."

"Will someone tell me what is the matter with him?"

"Some sort of infection. We'll know more after the test results. Now, allons-y. Back downstairs, eh? Hey. See about those engines. Go. Hey. Go." McDonnell followed Ashton out of the room. "Call us if there's news. Any questions?"

"Yeah. Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor. Coming Rys?"

"No. I'm staying with Abi."

"I don't know what's infecting him and I don't want you to catch it. Come with me."

"No. Look, I can be of more help here."

"Call me if anything."

"I know. Don't worry about me right now, all right? Just go help them." He nodded, giving me a quick kiss and ran off.

**"Hear shields failing. At twenty five percent. Impact in thirty two fifty."**

"Are you two together?" Abi whispered to me. I nodded and looked through the data she'd already collected, looking up as I saw his hand twitch.

"Rys, Abi, how's Korwin doing? Any results from the bio-scan?"

Abi took to results, looking them over. "He's under heavy sedation. I'm just trying to make sense of this data. Give me a couple of minutes and I'll let you know." As she spoke to the Doctor, I watched as Korwin moved a bit more. Abi moved towards the desk, confused as she continued looking at the calculations. She glanced at me, worried. "Doctor, these readings are starting to scare me."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Korwin's body's changing. His whole biological make up- it's impossible." I jumped up, seeing Korwin on his feet with his eyes shut. "This is Med-centre. Urgent assistance requested. Urgent assistance!"

I grabbed the woman's arm and pulled her behind me, trying to keep her as far from Korwin as possible. "Abi, run."

She shook her head. "Urgent assistance!"

"Abi, they're on their way."

"Please, Abi. I can take care of him but you have to leave."

"What's happening to you?"

"Burn with me," the man said in a voice MUCH deeper than his own. "Burn with me."

"Abi, get the hell out of here!" I yelled. The girl finally listened and raced out of the room, avoiding him as she did so.

"Burn with me."

"Stop. I know you aren't Korwin. I can help you."

"Burn… with… me!"

"What happened? What have they done?" I frantically questioned as he opened his eyes, only to shut them to my relief. "Let me help you. You want to be understood. I can feel that. Please, let me help!" Korwin stood still as I inched forward, my hands outstretched. When I was close enough, I gently placed my hands on his temples and took it in whatever had overwhelmed the man, healing him and learning of what they'd done at the same time. Seeing Korwin start to collapse, I grabbed him and placed him onto the bed. I suddenly felt the rage of the entity inside me and I opened my eyes, a feral scream escaping from me as I left a scorch mark on the wall before collapsing to the floor, exhausted and feeling as if I'd been run over by a truck.

"Korwin!"

I felt someone grab me and hold me close. "Rys! Rys, wake up!" I blinked, pushing the being back so that I wouldn't harm anyone. I saw the Doctor gazing at me, both fearful and angry. "I'm so glad you're alright."

I chuckled, wincing as I did so. "Can't get rid of me."

"What the hell were you thinking?"

"I saved his life and Abi's. That's all I did. I'm fine for now. Go, look at the results and scan him again." The Doctor stood, taking me with him as he walked over to the desk, looking at the papers forgotten in Abi and my terror.

"His bioscan results. Internal temperature- one hundred degrees? Body oxygen replaced by hydrogen. Your husband hasn't been infected. He's been overwhelmed."

McDonnell snatched the paper from him. "The test results are wrong!"

"But what is it, though- a parasite, a mutagenic virus? Something that needs a host body, but how did it get inside him?"

McDonnell opened her mouth to say something but I but in. "Scan him with the sonic." The Doctor nodded and did so.

"How did that happen? He should be dead."

"What do you mean?"

"It's gone. He's fine. Not even a trace of it in him. Just unconscious."

"I _told_ you they were wrong."

"No, they weren't. Rys, what have you done?"

I shook my head, looking away from him. I knew he wouldn't be happy with me and I didn't want to see that in his eyes. Not liking that, he took my chin in his hand and made me meet his eyes. "I just wanted to help."

"What did you do?"

"I took it in."

"She took what it in?"

The Doctor scanned me. "Why?"

"I needed to help."

"It's killing you!"

"I'll be fine. I wanted to understand." The Doctor removed his gaze from me, returning his attention to McDonnell.

"Where's the ship been? Have you made planet-fall recently? Docked with any other vessels? Any sort of external contact at all?"

"What is this, an interrogation?"

"My wife's risking her life because of whatever infected your husband. Now answer me!" I placed a hand on his, trying to calm him the best I could after seeing the woman step back a bit.

"We're just a cargo ship," McDonnell breathed before turning away.

"Doctor, if you give her a minute."

"Give her a minute? She just got her husband back and I don't know how long Rys has so no, she does NOT get a minute."

**"Impact in twenty four fifty one."**

"Is the infection permanent?"

"I don't know. I just got her back. She's everything to me and I might lose her again. The parasite's too aggressive. She'll be able to hold it back for a while, but not for long."

"I'll be fine. You aren't losing me any time soon. Promise."

"Are you certain nothing happened to provoke this? Nobody's working on anything secret? 'Cause it's vital that you tell me."

"I know every inch of this ship. I know every detail of my crew's lives. There is nothing."

"Why is it interested in you? It wants you, McDonnell, I can feel it. The crew's just in the way."

"I wish I knew."

"Liar." The two looked at me but I said no more.

* * *

_17/11/2014_

_Super sorry for not updating in the past two weeks. As you can see from the above date, I planned on updating sooner but I've been going through some personal stuff and while I'm not completely good yet, I wanted to at least post this chapter since it has been a bit of time. Hopefully when I'm all sorted, I'll be posting chapters more frequently. _

_On the brighter side of things, hope you enjoyed the chapter. I wanted to give a bit more insight into the Doctor and Rys relationship in their first incarnation. There'll be a lot more of it to come as the story progresses. How many of you loved Oncoming Storm Doctor? I sure did, even if I wrote it._

_Rys was able to save Abi and Korwin, yay. I've always felt bad for the woman since she was only doing her job and in the end was trying to figure out what happened to her friend. The next chapter tells of what happens now that Korwin is safe. _

_Thanks to everyone who read, followed, and reviewed the chapter and the story overall. I freakin love you all. Getting the e-mails literally make my day. With that said, onto the reviews._

_**Squidtastik:** Glad that you're happy. Here's another chapter. Hope you like. _

_**Takara Matusdaira:** Haha, I kind of loved Missy. I really can't wait to write out that episode. I could already picture her and Rys together and I would definitely add my own little bit in with my favourite character. No spoilers as to who. I was the same way about Danny as well. I was literally cursing out Moffat so much I ended up being checked on by my dad. Haha, I ended up waiting for it to finish so I could watch the Graham Norton show since Catherine Tate was a guest. But after that, I couldn't rewatch the episode because I knew I wouldn't really be able to process it too well. Awesome. Can't wait. :)_

_**NicoleR85:** Yay. Love that you loved it. _

_**margie-me:** Definitely. I do as well. I wanted some other people in the show but bringing back the Brigadier and the Master as Missy was great. Kate actually didn't die. She's more or so just hurt and in the hospital if the Doctor hadn't already healed her. I was more or so distraught by Osgood's death. She didn't deserve that and she had ample time to get out. The way the Cybermen were able to upgrade into the dead was a bit creepy. I ended up thinking just how bad it would be if that actually happened. The Hive-mind and Missy didn't anticipate Danny's love for Clara. But that's something the Master's always done, underestimate people. He went on rage mode because it wasn't there. He realised Missy was just lying since he put in the coordinates for Gallifrey and it was just nothing. Oh, and Missy is 'dead', unless she can escape disintegration thanks to Moffat. But the conversation was them and it was great. Thanks. I want her to seem real, as if she's actually in the show. _

_**Jasmine-The True Believer:** So glad to hear you loved it. Hopefully you've caught up so you can read these upcoming ones. Thanks. I tried hard to make their relationship as real as possible while fitting it into the Whoniverse. She does enjoy teasing him, but there will definitely be times when she's on the other end. Wow, your review really brought a stupid grin to my face when I read it. So glad that you can see her in the actual episode. That was one of the things I was aiming for. Hope you liked this chapter. _

_**I'm-a-Klaus-addict:** Not a problem. This is a late update so we're even. Hopefully your question was already answered at the beginning. I did actually say who he was during one of the Rose era chapters (Idiot's Lantern bits) but it that was so long ago that it's fine that you don't remember. There will definitely be more fluffiness to come. There's always fluff lolz._

* * *

_P.S._

_I'm thinking of starting another DW fic pertaining to an OC who jumps around the Doctor's timeline. I love reading those stories and have found a few great ones and wanted to try my hand at it. What do you guys think? Should I? I have a name for her and everything as well as the first few episodes I wanted to use. But let me know if that would be a good idea or not. _


	47. Burn With Me

_I know I never really add anything up here but I just wanted to let you wonderful readers know that I have a poll going on my profile page in regards to what I should name my new OC for my jumping through the Doctor's timeline story. Can't wait to hear your opinions._

* * *

No long after the exchange, and after I was helped to my feet, the Doctor did an overall examination of me, against my protests. I knew he was only doing it because he was extremely worried, but I really didn't need or want him to. It was already hard enough to keep it at bay and with him poking and prodding, I'd have to divide my attention and concentration between the two, something I knew I wouldn't be able to do. Yet it seemed the more I told him to stop, the more agitated he became, as well as the more frantic. This was one of the things I disliked about being Ame Soeurs; when the other was in danger, nothing else mattered but the other party. It was both a blessing and a curse.

"Doctor, we're through to area seventeen," Martha said, coming through the comms.

"Keep going. You've got to get to area one and reboot those engines."

**"Heat shields failing. At twenty percent. Airlock sealed. Jettison escape pod."**

"That doesn't mean us? Doctor!" I turned to the door, hearing Martha scream for the Doctor.

**"Pod jettison initiated."**

"Doctor! We're stuck in an escape pod off the area seventeen airlock. One of the crew's trying to jettison us! You've got to help us!"

"Why is this happening?"

"Stay here. I mean it this time! Jump start those engines!" The Doctor ordered as we both ran out. He gave me a look but kept on running, realising there was no way I was staying behind.

**"Jettison held. Jettison reactivated. Jettison held. Escape pod stabilized."**

Reaching Martha, the Doctor jumped in front of me, staring angrily at the person before us. The entity had gotten into someone else much to my disdain, Ashton. Even though I had a better understanding of it, I was still put off by the life it had taken. I watched as the Doctor took a step towards the figure. Sensing the anger, I grabbed hold of his arm, pulling him back slightly when he was too close. They were both angry, if I were to be honest. The entity because of what had been done to it and the Doctor because it was living in me. Giving me a quick glance, he gently pulled his arm from me and took a step closer to the parasite infected man. "That's enough! What do you want? Why this ship? Tell me." The figure stopped and looked at the Doctor before smashing its fist through the keypad.

**"Jettison activated."**

"Come on. Let's see you. I want to know what you really are." The two stood nose to nose and the figure raised his hand to the visor. I then staggered backwards, shutting my eyes as I felt an immense pain in my head. It seemed as if something had happened, and that because we were infected by the entity, whoever was under its influence, felt more than just its anger, but its pain as well. Feeling tears well up, I forced my eyes to remain close. The entity was gaining more control over me and that terrified me to no end. I didn't want to be turned into a killing machine, not again. Yet the more I fought it, the more pain I felt.

**"Airlock sealed."**

The figure stood and brushed past us, roughly bumping the Doctor's shoulder as it did so, since he stumbled into me. When it was gone, I felt the Doctor move away from me, most likely making his way to the comm. "McDonnell, Ashton's heading in your direction! He's been infected, just like Korwin and Rys." I felt him wrap an arm around my waist. "Rys…"

"I'm fine."

"Look at me."

"I can't."

"Trust me, please."

"I do, you idiot, but I need you to help Martha. Please. That pod was deployed and she's heading straight to that sun. You have to help them. Worry about me later."

"All right." I felt his body move from me, but his hand remained in mine. "Scannell! I need a spacesuit in area seventeen now!"

"What for?"

"Just get down here!"

I heard the man as he entered the room. The Doctor moved from me, grabbing the suit and putting it on; I heard each and every click as he finished suiting up. As dangerous as I knew what he was doing was, I also knew that he had to save Martha. It was our fault she was in the predicament she was in. She's our responsibility and we couldn't lose her. We couldn't. "I can't let you do this."

"You're wasting your breath, Scannell. You're not going to stop me."

"You want to open an airlock _in flight_ on a ship spinning into the sun- no one can survive that."

"Trust me, _he_ can," I irritably retorted. The pain had begun to grow unbearable and the longer I tried to force the entity back, the more it pushed, trying to reach the surface and take over. It was something I didn't think of when I had taken it from Korwin, not that I regretted it… much.

"You open that airlock, it's suicide. This close to the sun, the shields will barely protect you."

"If I can boost the magnetic lock on the ship's exterior, it should re-magnetise the pod. Now, while I'm out there, you have got to get the rest of those doors open. We _need_ those auxiliary engines.

"Doctor, will you listen? They're too far away. It's too late."

"I'm not going to lose her," I heard the Doctor say. I then felt his hands on my cheeks. "I'm coming back for you, alright?"

"Of course you are. War couldn't keep us apart. Don't worry too much about me. You do what you have to." I felt his lips on mine.

"I'm trusting you to keep her safe until I return. One hair out of place and you'll have me to deal with."

**"Decompression initiated. Impact in twelve fifty five. Impact in eleven fifteen. Heat shield failing. At ten percent."**

A while after he had gone out, Scannell called out to him. "Doctor, how're you doing?"

"I can't. I can't reach! I don't know how much longer I can last."

I reached for the intercom and Scannell led me to it. "I can't believe my ears. You, giving up? I never thought I'd see the day," I huffed, out of breath as I struggled with my own battle. "What happened to the man who never gave up, who never turned away from a challenge? Just one more reach and you'll be back in. You _can't_ let her die." I heard him scream in pain before quieting down.

"It's alive. It's alive. It's alive!"

"Doctor, close the airlock now! That pod's going to smash into him."

"Stay here." The airlock shut and the door opened. I could feel the pain he was in as he stumbled it, the sound of the helmet hitting the ground being my indication.

**"Impact in eight fifty seven. Airlock recompression completed."**

I stumbled towards him, engulfing him in a hug. "I know. I know."

"Doctor! Rys! Are you okay?"

"Stay away from us."

"What's happened?"

"It's _your_ fault, Captain McDonnell."

"Riley, get down to area ten and help Scannell with the doors. Go!"

"You should have scanned for life!" I bellowed.

"You mined that sun, scooped it's surface for cheap fuel."

"I don't understand."

"Doctor, what are you talking about?"

The Doctor cried out in my arms. "That sun's alive- a living organism."

"They scooped out its heart and used it for fuel. It's screaming. It's so angry. It's in agony."

"What do you mean? How can a sun be alive? Why are they saying that, Kath?"

"Because it's living in us."

"Oh my God."

"Humans! You grab whatever's nearest and bleed it dry! You should have scanned!"

"It takes too long. We'd be caught. Fusion scoops are illegal."

"Then you shouldn't have done it in the first place!"

He continued to squirm in my arms. "Martha, you've got to freeze us. Quickly."

"What?"

"Stasis chamber. You've got to take it below minus two hundred. Freeze it out of us! It'll use us to kill you if you don't. The closer we get to the sun, the stronger it gets!" he cried, his voiced going up a few octaves. "Med-centre, quickly! Quickly!"

"Help me!" Martha screamed. As he was helped up, I forced myself onto my feet. I had already slapped away a hand, the Doctor needing more assistance than me. I was still capable of forcing it back some since I was a willing host; the Doctor, on the other hand, was not. Even though I had rejected any help, a hand grabbed my arm as I stumbled and it remained there as we moved to med bay.

**"Impact in seven thirty,"** the computer said as we were led to the med-centre, a hand firmly holding onto the back of the Doctor's spacesuit.

"I can do it!"

"Martha, where's Rys?"

"I'm right here." I reached my hand out, finding his.

"You have to get in too. Together or not at all." I nodded although I knew he couldn't see.

"It's all right, I'm here. Just help me get him up. Stasis chamber, minus two hundred, yeah?"

"No, you don't know how this equipment works. You'll kill them. Nobody can survive those temperatures."

"They're not human. If he says they can survive then they can."

"Let me help you then."

"You've done enough damage," I heard Martha say as the Doctor and I laid in the stasis chamber, his arms wrapped around me.

"Ten seconds. That's all I'll be able to take. No more! How did you do it Rys, hold it in for so long?"

"I wanted to understand it. I was a willing host."

"It's burning me up. I can't control it. If you don't get rid of it, I could kill you. I could kill you all. I'm scared! I'm so scared!"

"I know, sweetie. But I know you just as well as you know yourself and you are strong enough to last a bit longer. You can't let it take control. Please, fight it… _please_."

"Just stay calm. You saved me, now I return the favour. Just believe in me."

"It's burning through me. I don't know what'll happen?"

"That's enough!" Martha ordered. "I've got you, the both of you. You're scaring her, Doctor. You need to be calm, if not for me or yourself, then for Rys."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Martha, There's this process, this- this thing that happens if we're about to die."

"Shush. Quiet now. 'Cause that is not going to happen. You ready?"

"No!" I felt us move into the chamber and the air around us started to get colder.

"You know, I'd rather go like this, in your arms. But it won't come to that. Just trust Martha. She won't let us down." I felt him nod and nestle his face into my shoulder, stifling a scream from the rapid descent of body temperature.

**"Heat shields failing. At five percent."**

Suddenly the air stopped. "Martha?"

"No! Martha, you can't stop it. Not yet!"

"What's happened?"

"Power's been cut in Engineering."

"But who's down there?"

"Leave it to us."

**"Impact in four forty five."**

"Come on. You're defrosting."

"Martha, listen! Only got a moment. You've got to go!"

"No way."

"Get to the front! Vent the engines. Sun particles in the fuel- get rid of them."

"I am not leaving you."

"Martha, you've got to give it back."

"Give back what they took!"

"Doctor."

"He has me. Please, Martha. Go."

"I'll be back for you."

**"Impact in four oh eight. Impact in three forty three. Impact in two seventeen. Primary engines critical."**

The Doctor and I tumbled out of the status chamber. I landed off to the side and I could hear the Doctor crawling across the floor towards the door. Not knowing what to do, I began to follow him the best I could, staggering as I did so. "Martha!"

"Doctor! What are you doing? Where's Rys?"

"I can't fight it. Give it back or… burn with me. Burn with me, Martha." Reaching him, I grabbed hold of his waist, keeping a strong grip on him and in place.

**"Impact in one twenty one. Life support systems reaching critical. Repeat. Life support systems reaching critical. Impact in one oh six. Collision alert. Collision alert.** **Collision alert. Fifty eight seconds to fatal impact."** Suddenly the ship shook and there was a bang. **"Fuel dump in progress. Fuel dump in progress."** I felt it leave me I opened my eyes to see the Doctor lying on the floor, unconscious from the strain . I scrambled to him, placing his head on my lap and stroking his hair. **"Impact averted. Impact averted. Impact averted."** I then saw Martha rush in, embracing me and then bringing her attention to the Doctor.

"You did it. Thank you. You saved him."

"What about you?"

"I'm fine."

"How were you able to keep it in for so long?"

"I'm not a normal Time Lady," I vaguely replied as the Doctor roused. I smiled down at him as he opened his eyes. "Hello."

He sat up, pulling me into his arms and kissing me. "You're okay."

"I am." I watched his eyes graze over me. I gently cupped his face in my hands, forcing him to look into my eyes. "I'm fine. No harm done. It was you I was worried about though."

"Eh, I'm fine."

"No, you aren't. When we reach the Tardis I'm putting her in the vortex and you're going to bed."

"I slept last night."

"Yes and you're going to sleep again. You need it. Please."

"Alright but you have to sleep with me."

"Deal."

"In my room."

"Okay."

"Wait, really?" I nodded smiling at him.

"So, what are you?"

I glanced at Martha, seeing her confusion. "Huh?"

"I know you're a couple…"

"Oh, that's what you meant," I chuckled. "He's my idiot husband, Martha."

"Husband? Oh my God. I snogged a married man!"

"It was a genetic transfer!"

"I'm so sorry, Rys. I didn't know. He never said."

"It's fine. Neither of us really announced it and you're only the second human to know," I replied with a smile as we walked to Area 30, where the Tardis was.

"This is never your ship."

"Compact, eh? And another good word- robust. Barely a scorch mark on her."

I playfully nudged him. "Told you she'd be fine."

"We can't just leave you drifting with no fuel."

"We've sent out an official mayday. The authorities will pick us up soon enough," Kathy answered. I smiled at her, seeing her in her husband's embrace. While I hadn't been able to save everyone, five out of seven wasn't bad. It wasn't bad at all.

"Though how we explain what happened…"

"Just tell them. That sun needs care and protection just like any other living thing." I nodded and the Doctor and I walked into the Tardis. Walking around the console, I put in the coordinates and waited for Martha to come in. When she did, I sent the Tardis into the vortex.

"So… didn't really need you in the end, did we?" Martha said with a smile that quickly faded. I watched his expression darken a bit. "Sorry. How are you doing?

I sighed, knowing he was about to avoid the question. While he may be able to do that with Martha, I was a different story. "Now, what do you say? Ice skating on the mineral lakes of Kur-ha. Fancy it?"

"Whatever you like."

"By the way, you'll be needing this." He held out a Tardis key on a chain.

"Really?"

"Frequent flier's privilege. Thank you."

"Don't mention it. Oh no. Mum." I chuckled and ushered the Doctor out of the room, quickly giving Martha a good night and letting him lead me to his room.

Once there, I stripped down to my tank and underwear and crawled into bed, waiting for him to join me. When he didn't, I opened my eyes and saw him staring. "What?"

"You in my bed. I like it."

"I know. Come here. I was serious about you getting sleep."

"I'm not tired."

"You had an entity possess you, Theta. I know it wore you out. I'm not Martha so stop pretending you're fine." He came over and got into bed, pulling me into his arms.

"Have I told you how much I love you?"

"Not today."

"More anything existing."

"Is that so?" He nodded, placing a kiss on my nose. "Well, I think I love you just as much."

"You think?" he asked incredulously.

"I don't think there's any way to truly express how much I love you, Theta."

"Well, um…"

"Don't hurt yourself," I laughed. He furrowed his brow and kissed me again, pulling me closer to him. I smiled into it, enjoying the closeness… the warmth. It was all that I wanted and needed. I was travelling with the man I loved, the man I thought I'd never see again, and that made me the happiest woman in the universe.

* * *

_29/11/2014_

_Hey all. So in light of the holidays, I am now uploading a new chapter. While I'm still going through some things, I really wanted to thank you guys for keeping with the story. I really and truly appreciate it, so very much. With all my ramblings said, onto the awesome reviews. _

_**NicoleR85:** Thanks. With that I think I would want the OC to know what's going on. _

_**Squidtastik:**Same here. It's gotten so weird to read the ones that follow the exact timeline. But I love reading DW fics in general._

_**Muirgen79:** Thanks. Yep, that's exactly what I was going for._

_**I'm-a-Klaus-addict:** Awesome. Same here. Yeah, it had to be Rys. I always wanted to save Korwin, but because of that, there were a few changes in this one. Hopefully the answer to your question was answered. Hope your Thanksgiving was great. _

_**Takara Matsudaira:** I hope so as well. I hear ya. Life just sucks sometimes but I'm working on it. To be honest, it hasn't gotten in the way of writing so much but me actually wanting to post things or go on the internet. But yeah, real life comes before writing unfortunately especially when it comes to school. __So glad you loved the chapter. That's definitely how their relationship is and it on;y gets better as the story progresses. I will be keeping a look out :)_


	48. Human Nature

_Hey guys. Don't forget to vote on what I should name my new OC. So far, I think there's been about four or five votes total. It's up on my profile so vote if you haven't already done so. _

* * *

_The three of us ran into the Tardis closely followed by a blast from an energy gun, which narrowly missed me. I moved to turn around but remembered why the creatures were after the Doctor and me and thought better of it. We didn't even know how the trip had ended the way it did. One minute we were at the Ethrial Gardens and the next we were running for our lives, being chased because of what we were and what we could do. "Get down!" I yelled as I slammed the door shut before any of us were shot. I quickly apologised to the Tardis for using her as a shield, earning a low hum from her. Rushing to the console, I began to input coordinates, trying my hardest to get us away from the creatures. _

_"Did they see you?"_

_"I don't know."_

_"But did they see you?!"_

_"I don't know. I was too busy running."_

_The Doctor looked up from the console and rushed to her, causing the woman to jump. "Martha, this is extremely important. Did they see your face?" _

_"No, they couldn't have." I nodded and the Doctor joined me back at the console, putting in coordinates. _

_"Off we go!" the Tardis flew into the vortex. Not a second later, an alarm began to sound. "Argh! They're following us."_

_"How can they do that? You've got a time machine."_

_"Stolen technology- they've got a Time Agent's vortex manipulator. They can follow us wherever we go, right across the universe. They're never going to stop, unless… we'll have to do it."_

_I stared at him, my hearts racing as I realised exactly what he was trying to say. I shook my head, eyes wide. I was not okay with this, not even if it saved my life. The notion terrified me to no end and the pain, at least for me, would be unbearable. The last time almost killed me, and I really didn't want to relive that. "Doctor…"_

_"I know. But I have to keep you safe Rys. **I** can't let them take **you**."_

_"I just got myself back." My voice cracked as the tears began. The Doctor pulled me to him, holding me close. He knew exactly what I was thinking, why I was terrified. It wasn't only that though, it was another way that illustrated just how different I was from the Doctor. "I don't want to go back in there."_

_"I know. We'll do it together."_

_"No. It's so much worse for me. I don't go into a watch. Everything I am goes into this bracelet."_

_"Rys, no matter what, you'll still be you. I'll be with you until it finishes."_

_"Promise?"_

_"I swear." I sighed and pulled off the bracelet, moving to the monitor and inputting controls before placing it in the holder, the charm facing up. "Martha, you trust us, don't you?"_

_"Of course I do."_

_"Because it all depends on you."_

_"What does? What am I supposed to do?"_

_He held out an ornately decorated pocket watch. "Take this watch 'cause my life depends on it. This watch, Martha. This watch is-"_

I sat up, wiping away a stray tear that fell, feeling as if I were that Rys woman. It was such an odd notion, that I was another person, someone in hiding. She seemed so strong, so happy and to witness the fear she felt, it shook me. Yet, I couldn't help but smile that a man resembling my husband stood by her side. It was almost as if he would always be there by my side, even if we happened to be different people. That was something that made me extremely happy.

Looking to my left, I saw John sleeping soundly, his expression peaceful. I could never understand how I'd gotten so lucky. He was everything and so much more to me. It was a rare occasion this happened in the world and knowing myself, I would never give him up, not even with the onslaught of women looking to pursue him. They didn't matter. As I inched out of the bed, I felt his arms wrap around my waist as he pulled me back into him. My back was to his torso and he only pulled me closer, causing me to let out a small giggle. "And where do you think you're going, Mrs Smith?"

"To prepare myself for the day, Mr Smith," I replied turning to face him. I looked into his eyes; those warm chocolate brown eyes that I loved dearly. They fit him so well. John was the most the caring and compassion man I'd ever met. As children, he always had the female populous chasing after him but they never truly knew the sort of man he was. The boys would make fun of his due to his interest was actually in learning and not so much in chasing said girls. Yet, it was also known that he could continue his interest without worrying about putting off these young women. They loved his physical attributes and while he was wonderfully attractive, it was his intellect and thoughtfulness that drew me to him. I found I didn't have to worry much about having nothing to talk about with him and no topic was ever off limits. He wasn't like the other men who considered women his property. No, he considered me an equal, even in childhood. Then again, everyone seemed to know we would end up together. There was never a time we were separated and when we were, we were often put off. But together, it was like we were one person, our brains on the same wavelength and always finishing the other's sentence. It was like Plato's story and he was my other half, my soul mate. As we remained that way, gazing at the other, there was a knock on the door.

Groaning, he released his grip from waist and turned to the door. "Come in."

Martha entered the room carrying a breakfast tray. Seeing us still in bed, she turned, returning to the door. "Pardon me, Mister and Missus Smith. You're not dressed yet. I can come back later."

"Nonsense," I replied as I stood, pulling on a dressing gown and handing John his. "Care to join us? We were just about to share our dreams. We've been having such extraordinary ones."

Martha placed the tray on a table and opened the curtains. "What about, Ma'am, Sir?" John stood and began to pace the room.

"I dream I'm this - adventurer. This daredevil, a madman. 'The Doctor', I'm called. Cerys was there as well," he wrapped an arm around my waist and kissed my temple, "my lovely wife even then. And last night I dreamt you were there, as my… companion."

"A teacher, a businesswoman, and a housemaid, sir? That's impossible."

"I'm a man from another world, though."

"Indeed you are." I smiled up at him, kissing his cheek. "You've been sent to me from another world."

"It is you who has been sent to me, my dear."

"Well, it can't be true 'cause there is no such thing." I glanced at Martha to see her smiling softly at us.

"This thing.- the watch it…" he trailed off, picking up his pocket watch from the mantle before setting it back down. "Ah, it's funny how dreams slip away. But I do remember one thing; it all took place in the future. In the Year of Our Lord two thousand and seven."

"I can prove that wrong for you, sir. Here's the morning paper. It's Monday, November tenth, nineteen thirteen, and you're completely human, sir, ma'am. As human as they come."

"Mmm, that's us. Completely human." I smiled at him before watching Martha leave. John then began to dress for the day. Turning to face me once his trousers were on. "What will you do today?"

"I have some business to tend to in town. I shouldn't be long, if all goes well with Mr Farrier. He's been a terror this few days. But I think I can convince him to the set terms. It would be horrid to lose such a property." He nodded, finished with his task. He gave me a kiss, one that left us both a bit breathless before he left the room, only to return a moment later and kiss my temple before leaving again. Smiling to myself, I dressed and left the school for town.

An few hours or so later, I returned to Farringham School, happy with the work I had gotten done. Since we'd arrived, I'd taken to writing, jotting down whatever came to mind, most which ended up being dreams. I usually brought about a journal but I had left it for John, knowing that he'd want to add some things of his own. It was fine though, I didn't mind adding my bits at a later time. If anything, it gave me a bit more time to my thoughts. I've also found that my best ideas arrived when I was away from the school, well, alone in general. The place seemed to be a vortex of negativity for me, especially considering they were teaching young boys to be soldiers, to be killers. While they seemed unaffected at the moment, how would they truly feel in the midst of battle? Would they really be thankful? Would they be happy? I didn't think so. If anything, they'd be terrified, but, I digress. The meeting with Mr Farrier had also gone quiet well, the man finally agreeing to the conditions written up. However, I had to thank my charm for that. It made it slightly easier when conducting business with chauvinistic men who considered women to be the inferior of the genders. My sister, Rose, had always been against it, having once said men should fair us, considering we bleed as if we were injured and still live. A small but sad smile played on my lips as I thought of her. I missed her dearly but there was nothing I could do. I'd never see her again, having lost her to illness. Shaking my head, I made my way indoors. Walking through the corridors, I overheard two boys speaking to Martha.

"Tell me then, Jones, with hands like those, how can you tell when something's clean?" Hearing that, I stormed over, grabbing the boys by their ears. If there was one thing I disliked most, it was when others were being put down. It angered me greatly and the fact that it was normal did nothing to aid my displeasure.

"Now, I don't think that was very courteous, do you, Hutchinson?"

"No, ma'am."

"Then why did it leave your mouth? To speak to someone as if they were beneath you, is that is what you are being taught?"

"She _is_ beneath us, Mrs Smith. She's a servant."

"That's quite shameful. You might one day run this country and I fear the day when it arrives. Everyone is and should be equal, no matter skin colour or status." Hutchinson looked away, a bit shameful. His friend on the other hand seemed to not care at all. Sighing, I knew I could do nothing to change the mentality of _all_ the young men with views such as the two. "Now, apologize to her."

"Sorry."

"Good. Off you go. I would hope _not_ to hear such words leave your mouth again."

"Yes, ma'am," Hutchinson said as he and Baines walked up the stairs.

"Thank you, Mrs Smith. I appreciate it."

"I do dislike when one is uncouth. Please, if it happens again, don't hesitate to tell me."

"Yes ma'am."

"Have a good evening ladies."

As I walked into John and my room, I found the Matron tending to John, him wincing as she did so. I couldn't help the smile that found its way on my lips as I walked to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder. "What happened?"

"Mr Smith fell down the stairs."

"Head in the clouds?" I chuckled. The man was an accident magnet, always getting into something and getting hurt in the process.

"It is no laughing matter. He could have been seriously hurt."

I narrowed my eyes at the woman, not at all appreciating her tone. I knew John better than anyone and with a glace I'd be able to tell if he was truly hurt, which, he wasn't. "Yes, he _could_ have been but he wasn't. John happens to be quite resilient."

Martha then burst into the room, worry written on her face. She had been with us for such a long time that when he was injured, she would rush to his side. She was one of the biggest worriers I knew. "Is he alright?!"

"Excuse me, Martha. It's hardly good form to enter a master's study without knocking."

Martha moved to leave the room but I grabbed her hand, keeping her from doing so. "Pardon me, Matron, but Martha is merely concerned about him. I'm sure _good form_ barely matters."

"Thank you, Ma'am. But is he alright? They said you fell down the stairs, Sir."

He waved a hand, attempting to dismiss Martha's notion and worry. "No, it was just a tumble, that's all."

"Have you checked for concussion?"

"I have and I daresay I know a lot more about it than you."

"Sorry. I'll just… t-tidy your things."

"Matron," I began sharply, "it would be best if you refrain from speaking to Martha in such a manner. She has been with my family for many years and has become family to me."

"Her master is Mr Smith," the woman stiffly replied, gaining an eye roll from me.

"Quiet right, but that is only because it seems men claim rights to just about everything these days. She arrived with me and you _will not_ speak to her in such a manner."

John reached out and placed a hand on my forearm. "I was just telling Nurse Redfern- Matron- um, about my dreams," John interjected, trying to defuse the tension. "They are… quite remarkable tales. Um… I keep imagining that we're someone else, and that we're hiding."

Intrigued, the woman turned her attention to John, ending our staring match. "Hiding? In what way?"

"Um… almost every night." He began to chuckle. "This is going to sound silly…"

"I have yet to laugh at your _silly_ dreams."

"Yes, it's a wonder you haven't."

"Tell me."

"I dream, quite often, that- I have two hearts."

"Well then, I can be the judge of that. Let's find out." I watched as Nurse Redfern placed her stethoscope on his chest. "I can confirm the diagnosis. Just one heart, singular."

"But it would be lovely to have two. More to love another with," I mused.

"I feel it would be dreadful. It will lead to more heartache. Childish musings should be kept to yourself."

John squeezed my arm in a comforting gesture, doing his best to silently calm me. Yet, I'd had enough of the Matron's words and refused to be calmed. "I beg your pardon, Matron? While sitting in this room, might I ask you refrain from insulting me. I do not take kindly to it."

"This is not your room. It belongs to Mister Smith.

"_Missus _Smith, would you like me to prepare some tea? I managed to find your favourite."

"No, tea is not what I require at the moment but thank you, Martha. Take the rest of the day to yourself."

"Ma'am…"

"Please, Martha. It has been a very long day and I fear it will only grow longer."

"Yes, Ma'am," Martha replied as she left.

"Now, as you were saying, John."

"I have er, I have written down some of these dreams in the form of fiction. Not that it would be of any interest."

"I'd be very interested."

"Well, I've never actually… shown it to anyone besides Cerys and Martha. Cerys has written a few pages herself, actually. She's quite exceptional with a pen."

"I'm sure," the Matron said as John handed her the book we'd written. "'A Journal of Impossible Things'." She flipped through the pages. "Just look at these creatures. Such imagination."

"It's become quite a hobby for us."

"It's wonderful. And quite an eye for the pretty girls."

"Actually, I drew her. She always seemed like a sister to me, much like my own who perished from illness. Her name was Rose. She disappeared though."

"It is a dream, not reality, young lady." I gritted my teeth, feeling myself grow more frustrated with the woman. I had grown to accept that women became enthralled with John, not that he ever noticed, but to openly insult me was another thing. I could see him growing uncomfortable with her jibes but unlike me, he tended to push the conversation forward, ignoring the problem until it reached a point that gave him no choice but to remove the source. While protective of me, he also knew I preferred to hold my own, hence why he had yet to say anything.

She then turned to a page with a small drawing of the box. "Ah, that's the box. The blue box. It's always there, um… like a- like a magic carpet. This funny little box that transports us to faraway places."

"Like a doorway?"

"Mmm. I sometimes think how magical life would be if stories like this were true but then I remember I have the most amazing woman by my side and it doesn't matter."

I smiled, seeing exactly what he was doing and my tension quickly eased. "I am hardly that amazing."

"But you are. Without you, I'd be lost."

"You would have beautiful women chasing you."

"And I wouldn't want them, not if I could have you. The day you said yes, was nothing compared to the day we wed. You've made me the happiest man in the world, Cerys."

"And you've made me the happiest woman. I couldn't ask for a better husband."

"You're _married_?"

"Yes. Have been for six years."

"You never said."

"I believe Martha called me Missus Smith. Matron, I understand it is quite hard not to fall for the man and I have no qualms with it. What is the problem is when I am disrespected. Please see to it that you remember that."

"May I read it, the book? I'll return it once I finish it."

"Of course. Thank you for your assistance Nurse Redfern."

"It is but my duty," the woman said as she exited the room, leaving John and me alone.

Sighing, I collapsed onto the bed beside John. "I fear this is becoming quite troublesome."

"What is?"

"Your charm. I feel as if I must fight off any woman who shows the slightest interest."

"They are not you, Cerys. You're the _only_ woman who has my heart. Always have been."

"As you've had mine."

John jumped to his feet and grabbed my hand, pulling me from the bed. "Would you fancy a walk?"

"Of course," I replied, letting my hair fall from its bun. John's hand immediately caught a strand and tucked it behind my ear, smiling down at me. It was an odd colour, something that set me apart from the other women but I didn't mind. John loved it, spending most nights playing with it before we fell asleep.

John and I found ourselves in good conversation as we walked down the path under the star littered sky. The cold air seemed to make the stars shine brighter, and while it was beautiful nonetheless, I couldn't hide the shiver that ran through my body. Seeing that, John removed his overcoat and placed it over my shoulders, much to my protest. He quieted me with a kiss, knowing that had always been the best way to silence me. Yet, it also was how I hushed him, especially when he went on rambling about nothing. In all honesty, we enjoyed the act of kissing and would use any opportunity to do so.

As we drew closer to the town, I noticed Martha and her friend Jenny sitting outside the pub with the Matron, the three were looking up at the night sky, as if they had seen something extraordinary. I eyed them curiously, glancing up as well, feeling as if something were to happen. "Anything wrong, ladies? Far too cold to be standing around in the dark, don't you."

"There, there. Look in the sky."

I kept my gaze on the sky, seeing John look up from my peripherals. Suddenly a streak of green light crossed the sky. "Oh, that's beautiful." Jenny muttered, more to herself.

"All gone. Commonly known as a meteorite. It's just rocks falling to the ground, that's all."

"It came down in the woods."

"No, no, no. No, they always look close, when actually they're miles off. Nothing left but a cinder."

"I think it did fall into the woods, John. Sometimes they land close by. Maybe that was one?"

"It could be," he shrugged, kissing the top of my head. I caught Martha's smile at us as he did so. "Now, I should escort you back to the school. Ladies?"

"No, we're fine, thanks."

"If you wouldn't mind?"

"Then I shall bid you goodnight."

Before we walked away, I turned to Martha. "Be careful. I expect to see you well rested and safe in the morning."

"Of course, Ma'am." With that, the Doctor, Matron, and I returned to the school grounds, Nurse Redfern leaving us when we reached the main building.

Removing my dressing gown, I sat on the edge of the bed, looking out the window. For as long as I could remember, I had been fascinated with the night sky, having to see it before I slept. It used to drive my parents mad when I was a child, but John had always seemed unfazed to my odd requests. In fact, he found them endearing. While he was a History professor, he was interested in science as well and would also enjoy staring at the night sky with me. He was so full of knowledge and we often found ourselves sharing the knowledge we both had acquired over the years. Our connection and understanding of the other always made me grateful that he was my husband and that he was nothing like the other men, that we were equals, and that I wasn't considered his property. At times, I found myself wondering if he were real, someone who had been perfectly crafted to me and I was to him. I leaned back, feeling his arms wrap around my waist. "What are you thinking about?"

"You and how this all seems like a very wonderful dream. I keep thinking I'm going to wake up and you'll be gone."

"I'm not going anywhere, Cerys. You're stuck with me."

"Promise?"

"I swear. Come to bed. I'll show you this is more than a dream." I giggled and let him lead me to the bed.

I sat up, seeing Martha setting a tray on the table. Looking beside me, I saw John was still asleep, something that didn't surprise me at all. The man loved his sleep, often having to rush out the room due to his oversleeping. Then again, I always gave into his request for a few more minutes. Slipping on my dressing gown, I sheepishly smiled at her and silently apologized for our state of undress. She just nodded, giving me a knowing smirk before quietly slipped out of the room. Leaning over, I gave John a kiss, waking him from his slumber. "I do love waking to your beautiful face."

"As I your handsome one but if you don't rise, you'll be late for your class."

"Is it time already?"

"Yes. Martha has delivered breakfast and prepared your clothes, although I don't know why. You're quite capable of doing it yourself. But get up, you only have twenty minutes."

"Right, of course," he replied, leaving the bed. I smiled at the view before me, seeing his cheeks take on a faint red. He quickly reached for his clothes and pulled them on.

"Nothing to be shy about, dear. It is not the first time I've seen you undressed."

"Yes, er, well…" I stood fixing his tie. "Thank you." I nodded and placed a fleeting kiss on his lips. "Meet me in my study after classes. There is something I wish to show you."

"Alright," I answered before he gave me one more kiss and left the room. Smiling, I bathed and dressed, grabbing a piece of fruit off the tray before leaving the room.

Walking through the corridors, I looked around for Martha. I had hoped to apologize for the sight but could not find her anywhere. I did feel bad that she had walked in on that. While it had happened multiple times in the past, John and I were always careful to lock the door, an agreement the three of us had come to after the last time. This time, however, we were so interested in the other that we'd forgotten. Ready to give up, I finally found her walking towards me. "Martha."

"Ma'am? Is everything alright?"

"Yes. I just wanted to apologise for this morning."

"It's alright. Been a while since I've caught you two."

"We forgot to lock the door last night. I don't think you'll walk in on us again though. This only reinforced his embarrassment from what happened in his father's home."

"You're glowing though."

"Thank you. Maybe we should find you someone," I lightly teased although I was quite serious.

"No. I'm quite fine."

"You can't serve me forever. No, I want you to have your own life, one that doesn't involve being looked down upon and treated lesser than others. You deserve it."

"Thank you, Missus Smith, really. But I'm fine here. Honest. You have been very kind to me and I couldn't leave you, not after all we'd been through."

"That means so much to me, Martha. But I have never seen you as a maid. You're a friend so please, call me Cerys."

"But it's- it's not right."

"If anyone says a thing, send them to me. What happens in the Smith residence remains our own business."

"Of course, Ma- Cerys." I smiled and bid her a good day before making my way to John's study.

Reaching, I heard him speaking to one of his pupils. I smiled as I heard him reveal a bit about himself as a young man. When I'd heard him move around a bit, I lightly knocked on the door, alerting them of my presence. "Hello," I said, walking in. Standing in the middle of the room was the young boy. He looked extremely nervous, as if he'd been caught in the middle of something bad. I just smiled at him, not wanting to make the already skittish boy even worse. "Timothy Latimer, right?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"How are you today?"

"Well, thank you."

"Glad to hear." I stood beside Tim and gently nudged him. "He's right, you know. You _are_ clever. Don't worry about your classmates, eh. Just be fantastic."

"Yes, Ma'am," the boy replied as he took the book John held out to him, quickly leaving. "Thank you, sir." John just nodded and came to my side, wrapping an arm around my waist. Thankfully, Tim had closed the door behind him so our small display of affection went unseen.

"What is it that you wished to show me, John?" He smiled and reached into his pocket. A moment later, held up a thick silver chain with a indicolite gem. I stared at him a moment before placing a hand on his cheek. "John, it's beautiful."

He took my hand and placed it around the wrist that held a much older bracelet. "Not as beautiful as you."

"What did I ever do to deserve you?"

"I ask myself that every second of the day," he responded, kissing my lips. "Supper, tonight?"

"I was hoping to dine with Martha but… I suppose she'll understand."

"No, no. Go with Martha."

"Perhaps we could walk through town after your classes?"

"Of course. I'll come for you immediately." I smiled and kissed his cheek, pushing him to the door as I did so. Pulling me with him, John placed a gentle kiss on my lips and left. With his departure, I returned to our room and laid on the bed. I'd had another nightmare and the more time passed, the less sleep I was getting. There were some times in which I envied John's ability to only have the good dreams, to never be plagued with the nightmares I experienced. As I laid there, I soon felt sleep take me.

"Cerys. Wake up, my dear." I turned over, hearing a chuckle. "If you don't awaken we won't make it to the village." I sighed and sat up, pulling a face. "You are far too stunning for such an expression."

"I was having the most horrendous dream. One of the impossible ones. We were travelling and we landed somewhere with this creature, it said Rose and I were going to die."

"It was just a nightmare. You're alive and well."

I pulled John to me, causing him to fall atop me. Understanding what I wanted, he rolled onto his side and held me close, stroking my hair. "But what of when my time comes? It felt so real, John." I nestled closer to him.

"If you are to die, I would quickly follow suit. I cannot live without you."

I placed a hand on his cheek. "You do say the sweetest things, John."

He smiled and kissed my lips. John, then stood and held his hand out for me. "All for you. Now, the village?" I took his outstretched hand and stood. Nodding, I fixed up my hair, which he promptly took down from its bun. He always did love it down. I chuckled, and decided to keep it down for his sake. I kissed his cheek and turned away, only to be pulled back and firmly kissed. My thoughts went to the previous night as he pulled me back down to the bed, his figure hovering over me, covering me like a blanket. He moved his lips from mine and made his way down my neck, undoing the top of my dress as he did so. I sighed, enjoying the feel of his lips on my body. I tugged at his jacket and taking the hint, he swiftly pulled it off and continued his assault. Grabbing his shirt, I pulled him back towards me, our lips meeting again. Before it could go too far, I pushed John away, reminding him of our trip to the village. Groaning, he stood and straightened out his clothing and place his jacket back on. Pulling me to my feet, he helped tie up the top for me. Thanking him with a kiss, I took his arm, and the two of us exited the room and made our way off the premises.

As we walked through the village, we spotted Nurse Redfern. She seemed so lonely as she walked through the streets, a basket of groceries. Nurse Redfern also seemed to be in deep thought as well, a slight from on her lips. Although she was not in my good graces, I hated to see her alone and with such an expression. With a slight glance at John, I decided to call her over to us. The woman seemed to be startled at first but she joined us with a gracious, if not nervous smile. I greeted her and asked of her day, trying to be a courteous as possible. Then again, I was a bit curious about her, even if she had found herself enthralled with John. Soon however, the conversation turned to her husband, after John had informed me of what had happened on the shooting field. I frowned, hating that he taught the boys how to fight. Young men were meant to enjoy their youth, not spend their days learning how to shoot guns. And he himself was never a fighter, not in the physical sense at least, having remained in school to avoid going to war, to avoid leaving me. I couldn't begin to understand just how the Matron felt, losing her husband.

"His name was Oliver. He died in the battle of Spion Kop. We were childhood sweethearts." She sighed. "But you see, I was angry with the army for such a long time."

"If I might say," I started cautiously, "you still seem to be." The woman gave me a slight nod.

"I find myself as part of that school, watching boys learn how to kill."

"Don't you think discipline is good for them?"

"Does it have to be such military discipline? I mean, if there's another war those boys won't find it so amusing."

"Well… Great Britain is at peace, long may it reign."

"In your journal, in one of your stories, you wrote about next year, nineteen fourteen."

"That was just a dream."

"All those images of mud and wire. You told of a shadow, a shadow falling across the entire world."

"Well then, we can be thankful it's not true. And I'll- I'll admit mankind doesn't need warfare and bloodshed to prove itself. Everyday life can provide honour and valour- and let's hope that from now on this- this country can find its heroes in smaller places…" I nodded, noticing two men struggling with a piano as it dangled from a frayed rope and a woman with a perambulator walking towards it. "In the most…" John had noticed it as well. Removing my hand from his arm, I ran to the woman, seeing a ball whizz past me, hitting something as I ran in front of her, stopping the woman in her tracks just as the piano crashed behind me. "Cerys!"

"Are you alright? How's the little one?"

I glanced at the woman, seeing her check on her child who was crying. "We're fine. The baby's fine. Thank you."

I nodded, glad that I had been able to keep them from getting hurt. I then felt arms wrap around my waist. Turning I saw John, clutching me to him, with Nurse Redfern standing by. "I'm fine, John."

"Don't you do that again. I almost lost you."

"John, there's no harm. I'm fine." I placed a hand on his cheek and stared into his eyes, knowing that was always the best way to comfort him, that it always calmed him when he was frantic. "Not a scratch. I'm sorry I scared you. Did you throw that ball?"

"Yes. It was just luck."

"That was luck?" Redfern asked, bewildered. She had joined our side a moment ago, giving me a once over to see if I was actually hurt.

John nodded, his attention on me. "Might I invite you to the village dance this evening?"

"As if you had to ask, John." He smiled and kissed my cheek. Taking my hand, the three of us made our way back to the school.

As we walked along a cart track in the field, we came upon a scarecrow. I frowned, not particularly liking it. It wasn't fear but a feeling that something was going to happen, something that involved the scarecrow. It made me more uncomfortable than I wanted to realise and it affected me greatly. I noticed Matron and John carried the conversation, with me making small comments when asked questions. I couldn't shake the feeling and in the end, it didn't matter; I wanted to be nowhere near it.

"Oh, it's all becoming clear now. The Doctor is the man you'd like to be, doing impossible things with cricket balls. And the Rys woman goes about saving those who were intended to die, someone you wish to be."

"Well, I discovered a talent. That's certainly true."

"I suppose but she's far more amazing than I."

"But the Doctor has an eye for the ladies."

"The devil."

"A girl at every fireplace."

"Ah, now, there I have to protest, Joan. That is hardly me. There is only one woman for me, always has been, since we were children."

"Yes, you will be dancing with her tonight." Joan then turned to me. "Misses Smith, are you alright? You've been staring at that scarecrow for a while."

"Cerys," I corrected before I turned to face her. "Um… yes, I'm fine."

"That scarecrow's all askew," John said as he pulled me over to it, releasing my hand for a moment to fix it before he took my hand again.

"Ever the artists. Where did you learn to draw?"

"Gallifrey," we both answered.

"Is that in Ireland?"

I shrugged. "Must be."

"But neither of you are Irish?"

"Not at all, no. My father Sidney was a watchmaker from Nottingham, and my mother Verity was- er. Well, she was a scholar in her own right. Cerys' father was a printmaker, and her mother was a nurse, actually."

"Oh. We make such good wives."

John glanced around, nervously might I add. I could feel just how uncomfortable he was with her comment. He rubbed the back of his neck, an obvious indicator of his current emotion. "Really? Right. Yes. Well, my work is done." He stepped back from the scarecrow and held out his arms for us to see his handy work. "What do you think?"

"Masterpiece."

"All sorts of skills today!" I chuckled and kissed his cheek, pulling him pass the scarecrow. It still bothered me, sending a shiver down my spine and the sooner we moved away from it the better I'd feel.

Reaching the school, Nurse Redfern, or Joan as she asked me to call her, separated from John and I. Instead of returning to our room, we opted for his study, where he had me sit on the settee as he made another sketch of me. John had been working on it for quite some time and I was, as usual, eager to see it. He was always wonderful at drawing. "May I please see it?" He moved over to me, placing a hand on mine as he showed me what he had drawn. The woman on the paper was gorgeous and in my opinion, looked nothing like me. It seemed as if it was someone he _wished_ I looked like, someone completely different than who I was. Yet as the thought entered my mind, it quickly went away, knowing that John would think nothing of the sort. That he loved me no matter what. "Do I truly look like that?"

"Do you like it?"

"You've made me too striking."

"Well, that's how I see you, how I've _always_ seen you."

"You are far too sweet," I whispered as he pushed a stray strand of hair from my face, kissing me. As it deepened, the door slammed open and revealed Martha. She stared at us, her eyes wide in embarrassment.

"Martha, what have I told you about entering unannounced?"

"Sorry," she said as she ran out. I nudged John, upset with how he'd spoken to her. She wasn't at fault, the look on her face told me something was wrong. Getting to my feet, I rushed out the room, going after her. When I couldn't find her, I returned to the study. John stood by the window, looking out at the evening sky.

"You didn't have to speak to her in that tone," I said, my arms crossed as I eyed him, not angrily but slightly disappointed.

John faced me, his expression blank. He knew from my tone that I was irritated with his behaviour. While he didn't snap at people often, he usually had better reasons to do so, and he'd never done so at Martha. While I understood _why_ he did it, I didn't condone it. "She's done it quite too many times."

"Yes, and there has _always_ been reason to that. She has entered unannounced on more than one occasion but she has seen far worse than a kiss in our case."

"But…"

"I understand why you may be upset, but you must understand that she was worried." I sighed, placing my hand on his cheek. "Next we see her, please apologise." He nodded. Satisfied, I took his hand and led him to our room. We still had the dance to get ready for and I was looking quite forward to it.

Finally dressed, I returned to the study where John took to waiting. He insisted he wait for me to finish before laying eyes on me, claiming he wanted it to be a surprise for him. Closing the door behind me, I stood before him and twirled, showing off my dress. I had bought it a few days earlier from a local dressmaker, having seen it and wanting it immediately. It was a dark green, like the forest, with a black corset bodice that emphasised my figure wonderfully. I had curled and pinned my lilac hair, leaving some in the back down as well as a bit in the front. I wanted it to look put together while being a bit messy as well. It was a style most women found unruly but I loved it, it made a statement and broke the usual norms. I didn't want to conform to societies norms. "So, what do you think?"

"You look… wonderful." He came over and pulled me to him in an embrace. "Beautiful. Ravishing. Enchanting."

I chuckled, kissing his cheek. "Thank you, Mister Smith. You look quite dapper yourself." He smiled, kissing my lips. "Now tell me, is your dancing still as bad as it was on our wedding day?"

"I'm not certain, Missis Smith." I smiled and pulled from him and moved to the sofa.

"Well, I do love a surprise and you, my love, are full of them."

"As are you," he replied as he sat, grabbed my waist and pulled me to him. As our lips met, Martha burst through the door, breathless as if she'd run the way to our room. I looked up at her, startled, mostly due to her frantic expression. It was quite obvious something had startled her and she needed our help.

I pulled away from John, hearing a deep growl as I did so. It wasn't the first time I'd heard that and I knew it wouldn't be the last. He was irritated that we had been interrupted again, but he knew better than to say anything. She was frightened and he wasn't about to say anything against her that would anger me, knowing just how bad I could get angry. Moving to Martha's side, I placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her. "Martha, are you all right? What's happened?"

"They've found us."

"Who?"

"They've found us, and I've seen them. They look like people, like us, like _normal_. I'm sorry, but you've got to open the watch. Where is it?" She pulled from my grasp and ran up to the mantelpiece, desperately searching for John's pocket watch. "Oh my God. Where's it gone? Where's the watch?" She turned to me. "Cerys, your bracelet. You have to press the button. You have to open it."

"What are you talking about?"

"You had a watch. A fob watch, right there."

"Did I? I don't remember."

"You did, John. There was one sitting there."

"But we need it. Oh, my God, Doctor, we're hiding from aliens, and they've got Jenny, and they've possessed her or copied her or… something, and you've got to tell me- where's the watch?"

"Oh, I see. Cultural differences. It must be so confusing for you. Martha, _this_ is what we call a story."

I slapped his arm. "Stop it."

"Oh you complete- _This_ is not you. This is nineteen thirteen."

"Good. This _is_ nineteen thirteen."

I slapped him again. "Stop being so condescending. Martha is quite brilliant."

"Thank you, Cerys. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, but I've got to snap you out of this." I watched her, my eyes widening as she slapped him. "Wake up! You're coming back to the Tardis with me, the both of you."

"How dare, how dare you. I'm not going anywhere with an insane servant. Martha, you are dismissed. You will leave these premises immediately. Now, get out!" He yelled, pushing her out of the room.

"John! She is _not_ yours to dismiss," I snapped before walking out to the corridor where I found her standing, huffing as she tried to regulate her breathing. Her expression was downcast as she stood there. She didn't seem to notice my presence at all, too wrapped up her own thoughts. "Martha…" I placed a hand on her shoulder, snapping her from her thoughts.

"Thank you. It's funny. When we first met, I never thought you'd be defending me."

I smiled at her. It was quite odd to hear that, considering I'd liked and enjoyed her presence from the moment I'd met her. I would defend her through whatever was thrown our way. She wasn't a servant or someone to look down upon, but a friend, a confidant. She knew my greatest secrets and desires. Martha was there for John and I's wedding and I trusted her with my life. "Tell me, what's happened?"

"They found us. Your dreams, they aren't dreams at all. You made yourselves human to hide from them. It's only been two months though, but they found us. His watch, someone took it. I have to find it. If they get it, the world will end."

"So… he's the Doctor, _not_ John Smith."

"Yes!" she cried happily. "And you're Rys."

"Everything we've been, has it all been…" I stopped, not wanting to say it out loud but knowing I needed to, "…a lie?"

"No. Your life in nineteen thirteen is a lie but yourlove… _that's_ real. You're still married and _so_ in love. _Please_, Cerys… tell me you believe me?"

"I cannot say I fully believe you," I started, seeing her hopeful expression fall, "but, it is plausible. If we truly are hiding, the Doctor and Rys must have trusted you so very much." I removed my hand from her shoulder and smiled at her. What she said could be true, and the cause of all my nightmares. Yet, some part of me didn't want it to be real, I wanted this life, with John. I wanted to expand our family, have children and grow old with him. If what John and I dreamt was who we really were, then there was no way we could have the life I wanted, the life John wanted. I didn't want to accept that but if it was true, I knew I needed to. "Martha, do as they told you. I will try to help John understand." She nodded and ran off, leaving me to deal with my husband.

Walking into the room, I saw John standing in the same spot I'd left him. He was abashed, from the red that covered his ears. He knew he had no right to do and say what he did, even if he knew I'd understand his reason. "I'm sorry."

"It's quite all right."

"No. I shouldn't have spoken to her in such a manner. I'll apologise when we next see her."

"John… please, do not worry of it. Tonight is meant to be fun. Let it be."

"Cerys?" I glanced at him, not expecting him to cup my cheeks and ferociously kiss my lips. "I did not mean for you to become so cross. It seems I can't get enough of you and when I do have you alone, we are always interrupted. Is it a crime to want you to myself? That I just want to be your husband?"

"No," I whispered, understanding his point, what he wanted. "But Martha is not just a servant but my friend. She was worried about us and I believe she would not have slapped you if you had only you listened to her. What if it's not a story? John, we've both had those dreams, the ones where we were hiding. What if this is the dream and we are merely going through it until we awaken?"

"As long as you are my wife, it does not matter whether this is a dream. It is improbable this is though."

"I do not think so," I sighed before taking his hand and leading him outside.

The night was clear and cool as we strolled to the village hall. We were both silent the first few minutes of the walk, caught in our own thoughts as I thought of what Martha had told me. However, after a while, we were acting like teenagers experiencing their first love. Kisses were shared, as well as the quick fondle. There was so much love between us, so much that made our love strong. Yes, we had our arguments but we never let them fester. We spoke about our problems, we tried to rectify them, come up with a solution and change whatever was the cause. Our bond was strong, and we knew the other just as well as we knew ourselves. We were soul mates, legendary lovers that were meant to be together. It was us against the world, together or not at all. As we reached the hall, I took his arm, still giggling from the kiss we'd shared not a minute before. An older man held a bucket out to John as we approached him. "Spare a penny for the veterans of the Crimea, sir?"

"Yes, of course. There you are," he said as he tossed in a few coins. The man thanked us, tipping his hat in gratitude as we walked past him. Inside, John and I sat at a nearby table, watching everyone as they mingled. While I knew most of them, I was never one to speak with those I felt no connection with. I wasn't one for appearances and it had been the town gossip when we'd first arrived. Changing my thoughts, my attention, however, was drawn to a young girl with a red balloon sitting alone. The more I examined her, the more I realised that something about her felt off, almost the _exact_ feeling I had when we'd encountered the scarecrow. I couldn't help but feel as if she were a part of whatever was to come and whatever that was, it wouldn't end well for John and me.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Please take your partners for a waltz," Chambers said as the band started to play. John held out his hand for me. Taking it, I stood and we found a spot on the dance floor. We skilfully danced, much to my surprise. John had gotten better, not that I would have been disappointed if he hadn't. Yet, it was nice to see that he had.

"So, you have improved."

"So it seems. It would be a shame to disappoint such a beautiful woman as yourself," he smiled, just before bumping into another couple. "Sorry."

"You could never truly disappoint me, John. You make me happy, even with your faults. I feel so lucky to have you."

"I feel it is I who is lucky. You could have any man of your choosing and you chose me."

"Just as you any woman but you _chose_ me."

"And that makes me the happiest man alive."

After a few dances, all without much incident, John had gone to fetch refreshments while I sat with Joan. Despite our tumultuous relationship, I did hate to see her sitting alone. As we sat together, we spoke of a variety of things, all light-hearted and of little importance. We weren't close enough to discuss anything of much importance or seriousness. Suddenly, I saw another body sit beside me. Looking, I saw it was Martha. She gave me a terse smile as she did so.

"Cerys. Nurse Redfern."

Just from her greeting, I could tell there was still something wrong, something was still bothering her. I couldn't help but feel it was about what had happened earlier in the day. "Martha, is everything alright?"

"No. Actually, I'm here to speak with the Matron."

"Would you like for me to leave?"

"No! I just meant…"

"I know," I chuckled. "Go on then."

She immediately turned to the Matron. "They're different from anyone you've ever met, right?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure I should stay?" As I began to stand, Martha grabbed my hand, patting it reassuringly.

"And sometimes they say these strange things, like people and places you've never heard of, yeah? But it's deeper than that. Sometimes when you look in their eyes you _know_, you just know that there's something else in there, something hidden. Right behind the eyes, something hidden away, in the dark."

"I don't know what you mean," Joan said, shooting me a haste glance before quickly looking away.

"Yes, you do. I don't mean to be rude… but the awful thing is it doesn't even matter what you think." I glanced at her, a bit shocked by her words. While she'd always been outspoken, she'd never been rude, at least, not outwardly. We had spent many nights gossiping amongst ourselves and making such comments about others, she was not one to say something of the sort outside of our privacy. "But you're nice enough." She then turned towards me. "And I just wanted to say sorry for what I'm about to do." I glanced at her, confused by her words. Glancing behind me, I noticed that John had arrived at the table, drinks in hand.

"Martha, I wish to apologise for earlier. It wasn't my place."

"It's fine." Martha then fished into her pocket and pulled out a mall cylinder object, with a blue tip, and held it out in front of John and me. "Do you know what this is? Name it. Go on, name it."

"John, Cerys, what is that silly little thing?" We ignored Joan as she continued to call our names, John taking the small device in his hands. As he examined it, I did as well, feeling as if I should know what it was.

"You're not John and Cerys Smith. You're called the Doctor and she's Rys. The man and woman in your journal, they're real. They're _you_."

I met her gaze and grabbed John's hand, not sure what to say. Yet, before we could reply, three more people entered the hall, two being people I knew, Jenny and Baines. The clattering of the coat hanger hitting the ground brought everyone's attention to them. The band had ceased playing and in the end, we were all staring at the three. "There… will... be… silence! All of you!" John grabbed my arm, pulling me behind him as scarecrows entered behind the trio. "I said silence!"

"Mister Clark! What's going on?" Without a word, Clark turned on the man and shot him, turning the proprietor to dust. The other guests gasped in shock and terror, Joan being one of them. Some moved to rush to the door, only to stop when the guns turned to them.

"Mister and Missus Smith? Everything I told you, just forget it. Don't say anything."

"We asked for silence!" The hall quieted instantly. "Now then, we have a few questions for Mister Smith."

"No, better than that," the girl I had been wary about said, walking to the trio. "The teacher- he's the Doctor." She pointed to John. "I heard them talking."

"You took human form."

"Of course I'm human. I was born human, as were you, Baines. And Jenny, and you, Mister Clark. What is going on? This is madness!"

"Ooo, and a human brain, too- simple, thick, and dull."

I stepped from behind John, frowning. "Who exactly are you calling simple, thick, and dull? I can assure you, he is not."

"Such fire in her."

"She's a Time Lord too."

"But she has also taken human form. We need a Time Lord."

"Easily done." Baines stepped forward, pointing his gun and John. The crowd gasped and took a step back and away from the scene before them. "Change back."

John took a step forward, shielding me. "I don't know what you're talking about.".

"Change back!"

"I- I literally do not know!" Jenny growls and grabbed Martha, putting the gun to her head once she was held securely between us.

"Get off me!" I moved to forward to help her but John had grabbed hold of my arm before I had made it too far past him. He then pulled me back, keeping a strong hold on me.

"She's your friend, isn't she? Doesn't this scare you enough to change back?"

"I don't know what you mean!"

"Wait a minute. The maid told me about her," Jenny vocalised as she motioned her fun to me. "She's his wife." I instantly felt John's grip tighten. He was nervous, scared and confused and to make matters worse, I was there with him, I was being threatened.

"Then let's have you," Clark said as he ripped me from John's grasp and put his gun to my head. I held my head high, not daring to show just how frightened I was. I was terrified this would be my last few moment with John, my last moments alive and that frightened me more than anything else. I wasn't ready to go. I wasn't ready to leave him behind. I knew John could see it underneath the defiance but I didn't want _them_ to know. "Still such fire in her, even with a gun to her head."

"Have you enjoyed it, Doctor, being human? Has it taught you wonderful things? Are you better, richer, wiser? Then let's see you answer this- which one of them do you want us to kill? Maid or businesswoman? Your friend or your wife? Your choice."

* * *

_3/12/14_

_Yay, another chapter and it's almost 10,000 words! Total word count came to **9,961**, which is 3000+ words more than it was at first. And I was able to do it all before doing my final two projects due it 3 hours. Honestly, it's like a 250 word paper (easy) and a 8-10 slide presentation. Easy stuff. I took my history final as well and I freaked out and stressed for literally no reason. It was literally about WW1, 2, and the Cold War, all topics I find interesting. Seriously, if I'm not on BBC, my telly's on the History channel or the American Hero Channel (all wars and stuff). I do have another paper to write but that's due Saturday night and then I just have one last final next Thursday, and then I can update a lot more than once a week. Don't hold me to that though. I tend to flake a lot. _

_Now, anyways, what did you guys think of the chapter? Of John and Cerys? Aren't they just adorable? Since I love fluff so much, I just had to take this opportunity to fluff it up 10x as much as I usually do. And what of Cerys and Martha's relationship? As I wrote the beginning, I couldn't help but feel bad for Martha and what she had to witness each time she entered the room Cerys and John occupied. Hope you were able to catch the little bits of information about the two's past and relationship. It's not all just coming from Cerys and John, you know. Hope you guys liked how I portrayed Joan. I really wasn't trying to write her as a bad character or OOC. But let me know if you think I did._

_With all that said, please don't forget to vote. Alrighty then, onto the reviews. Thanks to everyone who read, favourited, followed, and reviews. Made my day(s). _

_**NicoleR85**: Glad you enjoyed it. Hope you liked this one._

_**Jasmine- The True Believer**: Haha, definitely wanted that response. That's how their relationship always was, minus those moments on Gallifrey and when they were apart and such. What did you think of this one?_

_**Squidtastik**:Lolz. Yeah, Martha's a riot. I really wanted _**_42_**_ to be the one where she found out the extent of Rys and the Doctor's relationship since this was one of those episodes where their strength and trust in each other was needed. Glad it came out alright. _

_**Takara Matsudaira**: Lolz, I feel the same way about the one I'm reading that's still in progress. It's currently 109 chapters long and while I was only on chapter 88 when I last read it, weeks ago, I think I'm going to reread it since it was so good. Wow, hope you were able to finish everything on time. That's basically all mine today. Of course not. Reading is a stress reliever. _

_Hopefully you can get your inspiration back soon. Honestly, you sound like my friend Nat in the inspiration department. She's trying to get back into the whole writing thing and was having a hard time with some things. But doing a one-shot might probably get the juices flowing. I started to read it actually, before I went to class this morning, only getting a few sentences since I was late, and what I read was awesome. I'll leave an actual review on it before the end of the night though._

_**margie-me:**Yay, so glad you loved it. Haha, I actually learned that some published authors actually started out with fanfiction. Thanks so much. I really appreciate it. As for Rys' background, it will definitely be brought up. I'm still deciding which chapter to put it in. But, it will be answered before we get to 11, I will promise you that. Hope you enjoyed this chapter._

* * *

Oh, and I will be editing all the previous chapters a bit. I know you won't go back and read them but I just wanted to give a bit of a heads up.


	49. The Family of Blood

"Make your decision, Mister Smith." I stared at John, willing him to choose Martha. She deserved her life to find someone she loved just as much as I did John. His and our time together was anything but short. We had many years together and I knew I could die happily knowing that I had found the love of my life and had the opportunity to spend my years with him. However, it would terribly hurt leave him on his own… something I would never wish upon him. He deserved all the happiness in the world.

"Perhaps if that human heart breaks, the Time Lord will emerge." Suddenly the group turned their heads, deeply sniffing as they did so. Whatever had caught their attention caused them to lighten their grip on me. "It's him!" In their moment of distraction, Martha and I were able to get out of our captors' grips, Martha grabbing the odd, silver and green gun and using Jenny as a shield and while I returned to John's side. His hand grasped mine the instant I was beside him, and he pulled me behind him, promptly shielding me from the two men with foreign weapons.

"Alright! One more move, and I shoot."

"Oh, the maid is full of fire!"

"And _you_ can shut up!" She fired the gun in at the ceiling. The people in the room, including Jon, gasped. I was unusually calm in the predicament I was in. It was as if I knew there was no need to be frightened, that everything would pan out without much difficulty, _no_, that in the end, John and I would still be together.

"Careful, Son of Mine. This is all for you so that you can live forever."

Baines seemed not to heed Clark's warning and took a step forward and aimed his gun at Martha. He held an air of arrogance and it seemed to not only irritate Martha, but me as well. "Shoot you down."

"Try it. We'll die together."

"Would you really pull the trigger? Looks too scared."

"Scared and holding a gun's a good combination," Martha sarcastically spat. "Do you want to risk it?" The group lowered their guns, obviously realising where they stood. While Martha was only one person, she was right, scared and holding a firearm was not something anyone wanted to be around. Yet, I couldn't help the pride I felt as I watched Martha. She was so strong and loyal that I couldn't help it. The woman was the closest I had to a best friend, something I never truly had. We held each other's secrets and although the times denied it, we never cared to display just how close we were. I suppose that added to the rumours that circulated around the town about me, not that I cared. "Doctor, get everyone out. There's a door at the side. It's over there." She nodded her head to the right, indicating the door. "Go on." John remained where he was. "Do it, Mister Smith. I mean _you_!" I grabbed his arm, pulling him from his stupor.

Obviously seeing that John would do nothing and I refused to leave my friend, Joan jumped into action, instantly taking authority. It was good that at least someone was looking out for the others in the room. Then again, Joan _was_ a nurse and very matronly if it could be said. She was the best candidate to get people moving, to get them to relative safety. "Do what she said. Everybody out- now! Don't argue, Mister Jackson. They're mad. That's all we need to know. Susan, Miss Cooper, outside! All of you!" Everyone ran out screaming, besides, John, Joan, Martha, myself and the mad quartet. As I stared at them, I couldn't help but pity them. It was like I knew what they wanted to accomplish while not knowing but also knowing things wouldn't end the way they wanted.

Finally finding his feet, John, moved to Timothy Latimer and began to push him towards the door. As he did so, he kept my hand firmly in his, almost refusing to release it… or me for that matter. "Move yourself, boy. Back to the school, quickly!"

"And you. Go on, just shift."

"What about you?"

"Mister Smith, I think you should escort your wife and friend to safety, don't you?"

John nodded and led Joan and I outside, although he received much protest from me in doing so. I didn't want to leave Martha behind with those people. Sure, she could handle herself but there was something within me that knew she shouldn't be left alone, that she needed someone there with her. However, with him refusing to let go of my hand, he was able to drag me along, stopping as we reached the gates to speak with a man who was comforting a distraught woman. "Mister Hitch, warn the village. Get everyone out." He then turned to Tim and rushed at him. The boy stood at the opening, watching us intently. It was like he _knew_ something… I jolted from my thoughts as John released my hand and latched onto Tim's shoulders. "Latimer, get back to the school. Tell the headmaster-"

The young boy ripped away from him, terror evident on his face. Yep, he definitely knew something. "Don't touch me! You're as bad as them." With a final glance at me, the boy ran off, leaving John and Joan dumbstruck. Seeing the two were distracted, John in particular, I rushed back into the building, desperate to get to Martha.

Seeing me, Martha's eyes widened. "Cerys! What the hell are you doing here?"

"I couldn't just leave you," I said as Jenny escaped Martha's grip and re-joined the other three.

She gave a curt nod, never once taking her eyes off the four, particularly the three with the guns. "Don't try anything. I'm warning you, or Sonny boy gets it."

"She's almost brave, this one."

"I should have taken her form. Much more fun. So much spirit." The foursome continued to take steps forward and Martha backed away. I followed, keeping an eye on the four and the door. I wanted to make sure we had a clear path of escape. Hopefully, they wouldn't shoot at us as we did so.

"You could have but you'd have me to deal with," I all but snarled. There would be no way on Earth I'd let anything happen to Martha, not if I had anything to do with it.

"What happened to Jenny? Is she gone?"

The being that took over Jenny's body cocked her head to the side. Her eyes were wide and an eerie smile took over before it became menacing. She took to the front of the group, leading them closer to us. "She is consumed. Her body's mine."

"You mean she's dead."

"Yes. And she went with precious little dignity. All that- 'Aah!' screaming." Seeing movement in my peripherals, I turned and saw a scarecrow approach us. Before I could utter a word of warning, it grabbed Martha from behind, practically covering her face with its large hands.

"Get the gun!" As it took the gun, I grabbed Martha's hand and pulled her from its grasp and dragged where outside, where we found John and Joan standing. John's eyes were wide with worry and I could tell it was from my disappearance. Sighing, I knew I probably could have saved him some worry, but I also knew he would have never let me go back for Martha, no matter how close we were.

"Cerys! What were you thinking?"

"She's my friend."

"Don't just stand there chattering! Move! God, you're rubbish as a human!" She exclaimed, causing me to chuckle a bit. It was odd, that the statement would make me laugh, considering she seemed to be speaking to the both of us. Yet it didn't bother me at all. In fact, it brought back a memory of one of my nightmares, about something I'd heard John say pertaining to settling down and that he never would. It sounded like nothing that would ever leave John's mouth, but I knew he had said it, I could feel it. "Come on!" With that, we took off towards the school. John had recaptured my hand along the way and pulled me along. Martha was at the helm of the group, leading us back to the campus. She wasn't stopping for anything and from her desperation to get away, I couldn't help the fear and unease that began to stir within me. Whatever was happening or had happened, it terrified her.

The run back to the school was shorter than the walk for obvious reasons. We were all terrified, the others seeming to me more than I was. It might have been from the fact that I felt things would be alright in the end, that nothing too bad would happen. When we finally reached the academy, the four of us raced inside, John quickly shutting the gates and rushing inside. The minute we entered the atrium, he grabbed a bell and began to ring it, calling the boys. I stared at him, bewildered by what he was planning to do. How could he even think young boys could fight the threat outside? They were children and what stood outside those doors was NOT human. Looking to my side, I saw Martha and Joan with the same expression, Martha in particular. "What are you doing?"

"Maybe one man can't fight them, but this school teaches us to stand together. Take arms! Take arms!"

Joan and Martha stepped up to him as I backed away, not recognising the man I married. He'd never been one for violence and the fact he'd call upon children to defend the school, to fight, that was entirely unlike him. While I wanted so terribly to say something, I couldn't, my words were caught at the tip of my tongue, unwilling to be released. Lucky for me, Martha was true to herself and extremely vocal on her opinion. "You can't do that!"

"You want me to fight, don't you? Take arms! Take arms!"

Hutchinson soon joined us. The boy had stormed down the stairs, pulling on his coat as he did so. He seemed to be shocked and frightened from being called from his quarters at such an hour. "I say sir, what's the matter?"

"Enemy at the door, Hutchinson! Enemy at the door! Take arms!" Nodding, Hutchinson raced back upstairs, no doubt getting everyone up and together. John moved to the opposite side of the atrium, making sure the bell reached every corner. "Take arms!" Within mere minutes, boys were running down the stairs towards us and soon guns are being distributed and ammunition checked.

"We can't do this, Doctor. Mister Smith!" Martha tried as the boys readied their guns.

"Redfern, maintain position over the stable yard. Faster now. That's it." Taking the direction, Joan went off to the yard.

"They're just boys, John," I whispered, finally finding my voice. It was barely audible but I knew he had heard it. As much as I loved John, I hated this school. Something about teaching young boys, no children, to wield a weapon, to fight, to take the bullet that could lead to their death, it didn't sit right with me. It seemed to be changing him as well, turning him into a man of violence, a man who would rather reach for a weapon than try to find an alternate solution.

"She's right. You can't ask them to fight. They don't stand a chance."

John directed his gaze from me to Martha, quickly striding up to her. They're cadets, Miss Jones. They are trained to defend the King and all his citizens and properties."

The headmaster, Mister Rocastle, shortly joined us, an upset expression on his face. He wasn't happy with what was going on, and it was obviously clear. "What in thunder's name is this?!" John immediately turned to him, hands clasped behind his back. The boys around us also turned their attention to the man. "Before I devise an excellent and endless series of punishments for each and every one of you, could someone explain, very simply and immediately exactly what is going on?"

I watched as John took a breath and stepped forward. "Headmaster, I have to report the school is under attack."

"Really? Is that so?" The man sarcastically replied, not believing a word he'd said. "Perhaps you and I should have a word in private."

"No, I promise you, sir. I was in the village with Cerys and Matron. It's Baines, sir. Jeremy Baines and Mr Clark from Oakham Farm. They've gone mad, sir. They've got guns. They've already murdered people in the village. I saw it happen."

"Matron, is that so?"

Joan nodded, seeming to jump a bit as the attention was so suddenly turned to her. "I'm afraid it's true, sir."

With her words, he seemed to believe what John had said. I couldn't understand why he wouldn't in the first place, as John had given no indication of being untrustworthy, yet, I suppose with him being a new addition to the faculty, it made sense that he was somewhat sceptical. "Murder? On our own soil?"

"We saw it. Yes."

"Perhaps you did well then, Mister Smith. What makes you think the danger's coming here?" Rocastle questioned.

"Well, sir, they said, um…" He glanced to Joan for assistance, almost knowing I couldn't say a thing.

"Baines threatened Mister Smith, sir. Um, said he'd follow him. We don't know why," Joan interrupted, thankfully saving John from seeming like a bumbling idiot. Then again, at the moment, I couldn't help but think he was one. The thought shocked me. I'd never really insulted John, mentally our outwardly in seriousness and the fact that I had just done so, scared me more than I could or wanted to admit. Maybe being at the school was changing me as well.

"Very well. You boys, remain on guard. Mister Snell, telephone for the police. Mister Philips, with me. We shall investigate."

Martha stood in front of the man, blocking his way so that he couldn't leave. She was doing what she could to probably save his life. "No, it's not safe out there."

Her effort was left uncared for. "Mister Smith, it seems your favourite servant is giving me advice. You _will_ control her, sir."

As he walked around her, I decided to once again speak up. "Actually, Mr Rocastle, she is my friend and if she says it is not safe, then you should listen to her and remain here."

This stopped the man and he turned to face John, his eyes quickly passing over me. "Dear God, Mister Smith. Does your wife not know her place? Control your women, sir."

"She is my _wife_ therefore making her my _equal_, Mister Rocastle. Any means of controlling her, as you say, is merely discourteous." I beamed at him, happy he had spoken for me this time. He must have seen the shift in my expression and decided it was for the best. Otherwise, neither of us would have a bed if we survived this night. The Headmaster let out a gruff breath and with Mr Phillips behind him, the two left us. Once gone, John continued to prepare the boys.

Meeting Martha's gaze, I watched as she glanced around nervously before she walked off. "Got to find that watch," Martha muttered as she passed by me. Knowing that I had to follow her, that I needed to help her, I kissed John's cheek and followed her, seeing Joan come after us as well.

We followed Martha through the corridors. As we passed a corner, I froze, hearing a faint whisper. Before I take a good look around, I shook my head and followed after Martha and Joan to John's study. Entering the room, I watched as Martha wildly searched the area. I joined her, knowing exactly what she was looking for, and leaving Joan to stand by idly and watch us. "I know it sounds mad, but when the Doctor became human, he took the alien part of himself and he stored it inside the watch. I mean, it's not really a watch," Martha explained in her haste. "It just looks like a watch. Just like Cerys, although hers is in her bracelet." Confused, I glanced down at the article of jewellery I'd always worn. I barely gave it any thought, or noticed it for that matter. It was just a beloved bracelet that I never removed.

"And 'alien' means 'not from abroad', I take it."

Martha stopped and leaned against the desk, facing Joan and giving the woman her full attention. "The man you call John Smith, he was born on another world. Just like Cerys."

The woman cautiously eyed me. "A different species?"

"Yeah."

"Then tell me, in this fairy-tale… who are you?"

After giving me a quick glance, Martha began to search again, busying herself. "Just a friend. I'm not- I mean, at first I thought, but the Doctor and Rys… they're so in love. He doesn't see anyone else. I'm just a friend. Just their friend."

"And human, I take it?"

"Human. Don't worry. And more than that- I just don't follow them around. I'm training to be a doctor. Not an alien doctor, a proper doctor. A doctor of medicine."

"Well that certainly is nonsense," Joan scoffed. "Women might train to be doctors, but hardly the skivvy and hardly one of your colour."

"Oi! Watch it. Martha-" she smiled, silencing me. She had an extremely smug look on her face as she faced the woman.

"Oh, do you think?" She held up her hand. "Bones of the hand. Carpal bones, proximal row- scaphoid, lunate, triquetal, pisiform." As she went on, Joan's expression changed to that of disbelief and slight embarrassment. Although it wasn't quite right of me to think so, I couldn't help but thing it served her right, that she needed to be taught a lesson. "Distal row- trapezium, trapezoid, capitate, hamate. Then the metacarpal bones extending in three distinct phalanges- proximal, middle, distal."

"You read that in a book."

"Yes, to mass my exams." Martha laughed, not seeming to believe that the woman could be so blind to what was in front of her, to what was being revealed. While I couldn't believe it myself, I felt that I had to, I knew she was telling the truth. "Can't you see? This is true."

"I must go."

As Joan rushed out of the room, Martha quickly followed after her. "If we find that watch, then we can stop him."

Joan stopped and faced her. "Those boys are going to fight. I might not be a doctor, but I'm still their nurse. They need me," Joan said before she left.

Sighing, Martha and I continued to look around until she stopped me. I glanced at her, horribly confused as to what she wanted. "Go to him."

"I'm sorry?"

"John. Go to him. I can find the watch on my own but I know you want to be there."

I nodded, knowing she was doing this for my best interest. Honestly, I wanted to help her find the pocket watch, but at the same time, she was right, I did want to be with John, even if I hated what he was doing. Besides, I was never one to idly stand by as he did something dangerous, especially if he was risking his life. "Thank you, Martha. The Doctor and Rys, they're very lucky to have you as a friend, as am I." The woman nodded and pushed me out of the room.

Running to the front, I found John and Joan speaking by the staircase. He seemed to be confused by something she'd said. Not wanting to interrupt, I stood to the side and just listened. There was no harm in it, especially once I heard Joan's question. "Tell me about Nottingham."

"Sorry?"

"That's where you were brought up. Tell me about it."

As he began to speak, his eyes fell onto me and he rushed to my side, leaving Joan to herself. Catching the woman's expression before she turned, I noticed that she was irritated with the distraction. I couldn't blame her really. While she knew we were married, she still wanted some answers, now more than ever thanks to Martha's words. "What are you doing here? It's not safe."

"Yes, but we took our vows. I will stand by your side, John."

"I can't allow it, Cerys. Not this time. Please. Return indoors."

"No. We have stood by each other through far worse. I am not going anywhere."

"Cerys, ple-"

I held up my hand, silencing him and ending the conversation. I wanted him to answer her, not only for his sake, but for my own. In my mind, I had already answered the question and it felt wrong, like I was just saying it because it was what I had to say. It didn't seem real, or true for that matter. "Finish your discussion with Nurse Redfern."

He sighed and pulled my along with him as he returned to the woman and gave her his attention. John gave me a quick glance before taking a breath. "Well, it lies on the River Leen, with its southern boundary following the course of the River Trent, which flows from Stoke to the Humber."

"That sounds like an encyclopaedia," Joan interjected. "Where did you live?"

"Broadmarsh Street. Adjacent to Hawley Terrace, in the district of Radford Parade." I sighed, as he spoke, the same things were what popped into my mind as well.

"But more that facts. When you were a child, where did you play? All those secret little places, the dens and hideaways that only a child knows. Tell me, John. Please tell me."

Before he could utter a sound, I spoke. "Joan's right although in my mind, the same is repeated."

He turned to me, his eyes wide and slightly angry. It was as if he couldn't believe what I'd said, that I was practically denying our relationship, our love. It was like I had betrayed him. "How can you think that I'm not real? That _we _are not real? When I kissed you, was that a lie?"

"Of course not. But I have stated more than once that this felt like a dream."

"But this Doctor sounds like some- some… romantic lost prince. Would you rather that, Cerys?" I stared at him, saddened and upset. I never meant to hurt him but his words stung as well. How could he think that I would want that, that I wouldn't want him, my John Smith. I blinked, forcing away the tears that threatened to spill. "Am I not enough?"

"How could you say that? How could you even question my feelings for you?" My blinking had grown rapid as I continued to keep the tears at bay. Yet, before I could go on, a boy ran past us, diverting John's attention from me.

"I've got to go."

"John, please. They're just children. They, they can't fight. They just can't," I cried, tears finally falling from my eyes. John pulled me to him, whispering soothing words in my ear. "You know it's wrong. Never mind the Doctor. You, John, _my_ John, you know this is wrong."

Suddenly, Mr Rocastle's voice rang through the room. "Mister Smith, if you please!"

"What choice do I have?" he asked before he kissed me and walked towards the courtyard.

"There's always a choice," whispered as I wiped away my tears. I was angry that he thought he didn't have a choice, that he truly felt that the young boys had to fight. It was wrong and I knew he knew that as well. Barely giving notice to the boys and Joan, I walked to the door just before the courtyard.

"Stand to!" Rocastle ordered the boys. I jumped with each pound on the gate. Steeling myself, I stepped through the door. "At post!" I watched as John and the boys take aim.

"Enemy approaching, sir."

"Steady. Find the biting point." There were gasps as the banging continued. The boys were terrified, I could feel it, and the whimpers were another clear indication. They would _never_ be thankful to the school for putting them through this, for removing their innocence before its time. Suddenly the wood splintered and the scarecrows began their trek onto the campus. "Fire!" The moment the boys opened fire, I let out a small yelp, something within me stirring. Almost instantly images flashed before my eyes of a different war, one fought in the vast expanse of space. There was so much death, the images practically debilitated me. I felt an immense weight come over me, one of dread, fear, and sadness. It was almost as if I'd lost someone in a war, someone I loved dearly, someone like a child. I fell to my knees, shuddering with each breath. "Cease fire!" With the Headmaster's command, the shooting stopped. There was a chuckle that mad its way to my ears. "Just straw. Like he said. Straw!"

"Then no one's dead, sir?" Hutchinson asked, his voice hopeful as he considered the possibility. "We've killed no one."

"Stand to!" The man was silent for a moment and I could hear nothing. Yet, it was obvious that something was happening. "You, child. Come out of the way. Come into the school! You don't know who's out there. It's the Cartwright girl, isn't it? Come here. Come to me." I then realised he was speaking to the youngest of the four, the little girl.

I suddenly felt someone brush past me. "Mister Rocastle, please! Don't go near her."

"_You_ were told to be quiet."

"Just listen to me. She's part of it. Matron, tell him."

"I think that- I don't know- I think you should stay back, Headmaster."

"Mister Smith."

"She was- she was… with- with Baines in the village."

"Mister Smith, I've seen many strange sights this night, but there is no cause on God's Earth that would allow me to see this child in the field of battle, sir. Come with me." I couldn't help but feel it was a bad idea, that whatever Rocastle was doing would end horribly.

"You're funny."

"That's right. Now take my hand."

"So funny." There was a scream and then the girl spoke. I paid no mind to her words, though, too caught up within myself and my internal struggle. There was so much going on and my head ached so much. It was as if something was trying to push its way to the forefront of my mind and the more I tried to force it away, the harder it pushed and the more my head hurt.

"Put down your guns."

"But sir, the Headmaster…"

"I'll not see this happen. Not anymore. You will retreat in an orderly fashion back through the school. Hutchinson, lead the way."

"But sir…"

"I said lead the way."

"Well go on, then. Run!" That was the sound of Baines. I shuddered as another gunshot rang through the air, this one sounding much different than what I'd previously heard.

"Come on!" Martha urged and I watched as the boys scattered into the building, the scarecrows following.

There were the sound of multiple footsteps but none got too close to where I was. They were scattered and panicked and I instantly knew I was hearing those of the boys. Suddenly though, I heard footsteps approach me and stop where I was crouched. "Mister Smith!" It was Martha. I should have known, considering that if it were John, he would have already had me in his arms.

"Not now, Martha."

"It's Cerys."

Precipitously, I felt arms around me. They jolted me from my thoughts and although I was still in pain, I felt much better being closer to John. A certain calm rushed over me and it made the discomfort a bit bearable. "What is it? Tell me, please."

"I-I-I don't know. I don't like this. I can't take the fighting. Please John, no more." John nodded, silently promising that the boys would no longer fight. That made me feel a bit better. Grasping my hand, he helped me to my feet and pulled me into a hug. Seeing that there were more boys running past us, I pulled away from him and quickly turned him towards them, making sure he knew that right now, I wasn't what was important, that the boys were. Realising that, he handed me to Martha and worked on getting the children to safety.

"Let's go. Quick as you can."

"Don't go to the village," Martha warned them. "It's not safe."

As the last of the boys ran through the door, John turned to Martha, Joan, and I. "And you, ladies."

The moment the words left his mouth, I shook my head, pushing the door shut and latching it. There was no way I was going to leave him behind, no matter how sick I happened to be or feel. "No."

"Cerys, you're not well. I need you need to get to safety."

"I'm fine. I just don't like the fighting."

"Not till we've gotten the boys out," Joan said just as I finished speaking. She was obviously against leaving while the boys were still in danger. From the expression on Martha's face, she was going nowhere. I smiled, hating the times and the way society happened to be. While John was nowhere as bad as most men, he still seemed to believe that women needed protection and that in some cases, we were unable to care for ourselves. It was the one thing I hated most about life in 1913. It was bad enough I was somewhat forced into the normalities of society, but the fact that John had seemed to fit in the mould so oddly, often caused some irritation with me.

"Now, I insist. Just go! If there are any more boys inside, I'll find them," John said as we watched the last of the boys leave the stable block. As he opened the door, we were met with a wall of scarecrows. Immediately, he slammed it shut and locked it, facing us afterwards. "I think- retreat!" He grabbed my hand and pulled me along. The four of us raced outside, making our way through the thicket for a while before hiding in the bushes. Peeking through some branches, we heard and saw Mr Clark and a few scarecrows surrounding a large blue box.

"Doctor! Doctor!" Came the sing song voice of Clark. Martha seemed to recognise it as she gasped and grabbed hold of my hand, giving it a quick squeeze. "Come back, Doctor. Come home! Come and claim your prize."

"Out you come, Doctor. There's a good boy. Come to the Family."

"Time to end it now!"

"You recognize it, don't you?"

John shook his head. "I've never seen it in my life."

"Do you remember its name?" Martha asked, glancing expectantly at me. I looked away, not wanting to say anything. The box seemed vaguely familiar, too familiar for my liking. The longer I stared at it, the more I felt as if it were calling out to me, as if I needed to approach it. Everything was growing more and more confusing the longer time progressed and the headache I'd been sporting seemed to grow in strength. I made no indication of pain as it grew, not wanting to alert those around me of trouble, or cause anyone worry.

"I'm sorry, John, but you and Cerys wrote about it. The blue box- you dreamt of a blue box. You both did."

"I'm not… I'm John Smith." John's voice broke, causing me to wrap my arms around his torso in a gesture of comfort. "That's all I want to be- John Smith, with his life, and his job…" He looked down at me, tears in his eyes, "and his love. Why can't I be John Smith? Isn't he a good man?"

"Of course he is," I whispered, placing a hand on his cheek. I hated seeing him so distraught. He was scared, something I hadn't seen in many years. It was killing him, just as it was me. If he was this Doctor, then that would make me Rys. We would be lonely travellers, experiencing one pain after another. We could never have a stable life… but we would be together, we would still be in love. I just wanted _him_ to be alright, for him to understand that it _wouldn't_ really be the end.

"Why can't I stay? Why can't we stay?" He ran his palm over his face.

"But we need the Doctor and Rys."

Unfortunate for Martha, that was the one thing he didn't want to hear. He was already in such a state of panic that her words did nothing but make him more upset. "What are we, then? Nothing. We're just a story." He ran off, pulling me along with him. I sighed, knowing that things were only going to get worse before it got better. Looking back, I saw that Joan and Martha were following close behind us.

"This way. I think I know somewhere we can hide," Joan said as we walked down a country lane. She walked behind us a bit but I could still see her from my peripherals. She came to a stop, the three of us doing so as well.

"We've got to keep going."

"Just listen to me for once, John. Now, follow me." Sensing his reluctance, I pulled his hand in the direction she walked, letting him know it was all right. Giving in, he allowed me to drag him along. We walked a while longer until we reached a small cottage. From the exterior, I could tell it was empty. Joan panted as we came to a stop just outside the gate. "Oh, here we are. It should be empty. Oh, it's a long time since I've run that far."

"But who lives here?"

"If I'm right, no one." Walking inside, the dark house, we were greeted with a table that was set for tea. "Hello?" Joan called and as expected, there was no answer. "No one home. We should be safe here."

"Whose house is it, though?"

"Um, the Cartwrights'. That little girl at the school, she's Lucy Cartwright. Or she's taken Lucy Cartwright's form. If she came home this afternoon, and if the parents tried to stop their little girl, then… they were vanished," Joan explained before touching the teapot. "Stone cold. How easily I accept these ideas."

John moved from my side and sat at the table, despair covered his face. He looked so helpless and I didn't know what to do to help. Doing what I could, I walked behind him and wrapped my arms around his shoulders and kissed his cheek. He reached a hand up, holding onto mine. "I must go to them, before anyone else dies."

"_We _must."

John sighed, seeming to know that I would never let him go alone. "You can't. Martha, there must be something we can do?"

"Not without the watch."

John faced her, all bit ripping himself from my embrace. In anger he slammed his fists onto the table. Taking a breath, I began to run my hand through his hair, doing my best to soothe him, not that it helped much. "You're this Doctor's companion. Can't you help? What exactly do you do for him? Why does he need you?!"

"John," I softly said, catching his attention. While he was angry, I couldn't help but feel sorry for Martha. She'd gotten the worst end of the deal. She was left to deal with John and I as we currently were. His words got to her, and it hurt her, I could see that clearly in her eyes.

"No, _your_ life is at stake Cerys." He then returned his attention to Martha. "What is the point of you?"

"He needs me because he's lonely."

"How can he be lonely if he has Rys?"

"They're _both_ lonely."

"And that's what you want us to become." There was a knock on the door and John jumped up, fearful and on the defence. He quickly pulled me behind him, even though I told him there was no need. Whatever or whoever was at the door, it wasn't the Family or scarecrows. They wouldn't knock. "What if that's them?"

"I'm not an expert, but I don't think scarecrows knock," Martha stated before she went to open the door. While she was there, I whispered soothing things to John, growing content as he began to relax a bit. As she moved to the side, Timothy walked in, his hand balled up around something.

"I brought you this." The young boy held out his hand, and opened it, revealing the 'lost' pocket watch. When John backed away, he handed it to Martha and she held it out the John. She was still, waiting for him to make the first move. Her eyes kept moving to me, as if trying to tell me something, but I didn't understand exactly what she was trying to convey.

"Hold it."

"I won't."

"Please, just hold it. Tell him, Cerys. He'll listen to you. He always does, even when you think he doesn't." I stared at the boy, shocked that he had even picked up on that. Then again, if it was the Doctor within that watch, it could have just informed him. However, how could the watch know? There was so much I wanted answers to, and I was getting none.

"It told me to find you. It wants to be held."

"You've had this watch all this time?" Joan questioned. "Why didn't you return it?"

"Because it was waiting. And because I was so scared… of the Doctor." Martha pulled her hand back, examining the watch. I observed her curiously as she did so. It was almost as if it were the first time she's seen it up close. There was an inquisitiveness within her gaze, as well as immense sadness.

"Why?"

"Because… I've seen him." Tim stepped forward, walking past Martha and continuing until he was directly before John and I. "He's… like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night and the storm in the heart of the sun."

"Stop it."

"He's ancient and forever. He burns at the centre of time, and he can see the turn of the universe. I saw her too. Rys. She balances him. She's his universe, the only one who could get through to him. She's like water, ever moving but remaining the same. She's the moon and the stars, the eternal."

"Stop it! I said stop it."

"And… they're wonderful."

"I've still got this." Joan pulled out a book, the journal John and I had spent so much time writing in. "The journal."

"Those are just stories."

"Now we know that's not true. Perhaps there's something in here." Suddenly there was a thunderous bang and the cottage trembled as a flash of light seeped through the window.

"What the hell?" We ran to the window, peering out, seeing balls of fire fall to earth in the distance. I couldn't help the pang of guilt that rushed over me. If it weren't for John and I, this probably would have never happened, no one would have died and the Family would not have come after us. Then again, I couldn't help but feel that the Doctor and Rys didn't think that far. If he was anything like John, he probably did whatever he could to keep Rys safe. I couldn't blame him for that.

"They're destroying the village."

"The watch."

"John, don't." He reached for it a moment before taking it from Martha's hand. As he stood beside me, I heard the whisper I'd heard in the corridor before the school had been breached. It was the same whisper, the same voice. It had to be the Doctor.

_"Closer."_

"Can you hear it?"

_"Closer."_

"Like he's asleep. Waiting to awaken."

_"Waken me, little man."_

"Why did he speak to me?" Timothy asked.

John held it in his hands, rubbing his thumb against it. "Oh, low level telepathic field. You were born with it, just an extra synaptic engram causing-" He stopped, inhaling sharply as he looked at me with a ghastly expression on his face. My eyes, however, was on Martha, who had a small smile on her face. "Is that how he talks?"

"That's him! All you have to do is open it and he's back." There was another explosion.

"You knew this all along, and yet you let us continue, Cerys and I-"

"I didn't know how to stop you. He gave me a list of things to watch out, for but that wasn't included."

"It never occurred to him?" John asked incredulously. I sighed, knowing that he didn't want this to be real. But, as a man of knowledge, John couldn't deny the evidence before him, there was no way he could.

"He and Rys were already so in love. Why did it have to?"

"Then what sort of man is that? And now you expect me… us, to die?" Another explosion rattled the cottage.

"It was always going to end, though! The Doctor said the Family's got a limited lifespan, and that's why they need to consume a Time Lord. Otherwise, three months and they die. Like mayflies, he said."

"So your job was to _execute_ us." I placed a hand on his arm, seeing him relax just a tad. I knew this was hard for him; it was hard for me as well. I didn't want this to be over, but I had also said multiple times that this felt so much like a fantasy. Things weren't meant to remain this way, it was something I'd felt the entire time we'd been in the small village.

"People are _dying_ out there. They need them and I need them. 'Cause you've got no idea of what they're like. I've only just met them. It wasn't even that long ago, but… they are _everything_. He's just everything to me, they both are, and he doesn't even look at me, but I don't care, 'cause I love him to bits, just as I love her- and I hope to God they won't remember me saying this."

There was another explosion. "It's getting closer."

"I should have thought of it before! I can give them this- just the watch. Then they can leave and I can stay as I am."

"You can't do that!"

"If they want the Doctor, they can have him."

"She'll never let you do it," Martha said, pointing to me. I stared at her before meeting John's gaze. Martha was right, I wouldn't allow him to do that. There were things at work here and if what John and I had written in the journal was true, then things would only be worse if they were given the watch.

"If they get what they want, then- then…"

"Then it all ends in destruction," Joan said, causing us to face her. I" never read to the end. Those creatures would live forever, to breed and conquer. War across the stars, for every child," Joan said.

"John," I began softly, "please, think of it. Everything would end." When he glanced down and away from me, I turned to the others in the room. "Martha, Tim, Joan, could you leave us for a moment please?" The three left and I embraced John, holding him close as he sobbed. "If what Martha says is true, we would still be together. But think, if you give them the watch, what is to happen to Rys, to me, when I change back? I'm sure she could love you but you wouldn't be the man she fell in love with."

"It was real, wasn't it? Were you right? Was this just a dream?"

"A lovely dream. Give it here," I said, holding out my hand. He dropped the watch into it. I gasped seeing what Timothy had seen. He then placed his hand over mine. I saw us, our wedding, our first child, a boy with chin length black hair and icy blue eyes, and our second, a girl with blonde hair and eyes like her older brother's. The four of us enjoying a picnic in the fields, the wedding of our children, births of our grandchildren and finally us on our deathbeds, old and wrinkled.

_They're all safe, aren't they? The children, the grandchildren. Everyone's safe?"_

_"Everyone's safe, my dear. They send their love. I suppose the grandchildren will miss us."_

_"It's time. I love you."_

_As I love you, John."_

"Did you see?"

"The Time Lords has such adventures, but we could never have a life like that, not again."

"And yet, _we_ could."

I rested my head on his shoulder, knowing what we HAD to do. "What are we going to do, John?"

"Just me."

My head snapped up as I shot him my fiercest glare. "No. _Together_ or not at all." Understanding, John nodded and pulled me into a kiss before he opened the watch. As he did that, I grabbed the lone charm on the bracelet and pushed it, feeling an overwhelming pain envelop me. This continued until everything went black.

Reaching the spaceship, crept in, hand in hand. When we were halfway down the ramp, the family turned to face us. The Doctor released my hand as he did so; making sure I was behind him the entirety of the time. We both needed our hands free in order for the plan to work. That and the Family believing we were still human and all. It was a pretty good plan, if I had to say so. "Just…" Another boom rocked the ship, sending us against a column of switches, that we pushed. "Just stop the bombardment. That's all we're asking. we'll do anything you want. Just- just stop."

"Say 'please'," Baines taunted.

"Please."

Jenny and Baines pushed down two levers and the bombing stopped. We looked around, fear written over our faces. "Wait a minute." Jenny sniffed the air. "Still human. The both of them."

"Now I can't- I can't pretend to understand, not for a second, but I want you to know I'm innocent in all this. He made me John Smith. It's not like- like I had any control over it." He ran his hand over more switches.

"He didn't just make himself human. He made himself an idiot."

"Same thing, isn't it?"

I ground my teeth, not at all appreciating that they were speaking ill about the Doctor. In all honestly, I was the only one allowed to call him names. Hearing my train of thought, he spoke calming words through our mental link. "My husband is not an idiot."

"I don't care about this Doctor and your family. I just want you to go! So I've made my choice- you can have him." He held out the pocket watch for the Family to take. "Just take it, please! Take him away!"

"And her?"

"I- I don't know where she hid herself," I answered as the Doctor held out the watch.

"At last," Baines said, snatching it from his hand. As he stared at the watch, he grabbed the Doctor's jacket lapels. "Don't think that saved your life." He pushed the Doctor away. His hands hit more buttons as he fell to the floor. I ran over to him, hitting a few buttons of my own. "Family of Mine… now we shall have the lives of a Time Lord." Baines opened the watch and they all sniffed, disappointment crossing Jenny's face and anger on Baines'. "It's empty!"

"W-where's he gone?"

"You tell me?" Baine's threw it at the Doctor who quickly caught it as he looked at me, beckoning for me to tell them.

"Like I said, my husband is no idiot… well, he's _my_ idiot. You've been fooled by an embarrassingly simple trick of olfactory misdirection. Quite elementary in certain parts of the galaxy. But, onto business, your hydrokinometer, it's not looking too nice. You've got energy feedback all the way through the retro stabilisers feeding into the primary heat converters. You _really_ shouldn't have let him press all those buttons. But I will tell you one thing… run." The Doctor grabbed my hand and we raced out the ship as the green light turned red and an alarm started up. The four immediately followed in suit, falling from the blast of the explosion.

"You are brilliant."

"Not as brilliant as you."

"Now, let's not. You are, so very brilliant. It's sexy." The Doctor had grabbed onto my waist and begun to pull me closer to him. Since he wasn't shielding his thoughts, I heard and saw _everything_ he wanted to do to me. Before he could pull me any closer, or his lips touched mine, I pulled away, causing him to pout. I chuckled and kissed his cheek.

"That lot, Doctor."

Seeming to remember what we were up to previously, he turned to the Family. "Right, of course, dear."

With a quick trip to the Tardis, we tied Clark in unbreakable chains that were forged in the heart of a dwarf star and pushed him into a pit. We tricked Jenny into the event horizon of a collapsing galaxy. As for Lucy, we trapped her inside _every_ mirror. And Baines, we suspended him in time, making him a scarecrow, watching of England's fields. I felt no remorse for what was done. We had hidden to spare their lives and in the end, they brought their own demise. We gave them their wish. They could live forever.

When we had finished, we returned to the cottage, the Doctor in his suit and me in my typical lace and leather, with his 9th incarnation's jacket on. Entering the cottage, we were greeted by Joan. "Is it done?"

"Yep. It's done."

"The police and the army are at the school. The parents have come to take the boys home. I should go. They'll have so many questions. I'm not sure what to say." Her eyes met mine before they averted to the Doctor's. "Oh, you look the same. Goodness, you must forgive my rudeness. I find it difficult to look at you. Doctor- I must call you Doctor and Rys- where are they? John and Cerys Smith."

I shrugged and smiled at the woman. "They're in here somewhere."

"Like a story. Could you change back?"

"Yes."

"Will you?"

"I would _never_ put Rys through that again," he said, wrapping an arm protectively around my waist.

"I see. Well, then. They were braver that you… in the end. That ordinary man and woman. You chose to change, but… they chose to die."

"If that's the case, I'd rather be a coward, any day," I said, repeating the Doctor's words from when we faced the Daleks on the game station. Joan and I hadn't quite become friends, but there was a mutual respect there. However, it seemed that she had none for me as I was and her disdain was easily viewed on her face. I sighed, knowing that I couldn't win them all. But I was disappointed. I knew things would be different but I didn't think she'd consider us lower than what we were. John and Cerys were still within us and it seemed she didn't care much about that. Hearing the Doctor's thoughts, I shook my head, telling him not to ask. Unlike most times, he chose not to listen to me.

"Come with us."

"I'm sorry?"

"Travel with us."

"As what?"

"Our companion," he simply stated.

"But that's not fair. What must I look like to you, Doctor? I must seem so very small."

"Not small. Humans are giants."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"John and Cerys Smith are dead, and you look like them."

"But they're here… inside… if you just look into our eyes."

"Answer me this- just one question, that's all- if the Doctor and Rys had never visited us, if they'd- never chosen this place on a whim… would anybody here have died?" We remained silent. "You can go." When Joan turned away from us, I tugged his arm, and led him back to the Tardis where we found Martha waiting.

"Right then. Molto bene."

"How was she?"

"Time we moved on."

"If you want, I could go-"

I shook my head, shooting down her idea. "He's right, time we moved on." As I said that, I realised the double meaning in those words. Not only was it time to move on from this place, but we both, me especially, had to move on from Rose. While I hadn't properly or completely grieved from her loss, I needed to move on with my life. I didn't want to remain in a cycle I couldn't break from.

"Um, meant to say, back there, last night- I would have said anything to get you both to change."

"Oh yeah, of course you would. Yeah."

"I mean, I wasn't really…"

"We know, Martha. I know."

"Good."

"Fine."

"So here we are then."

"There we are, yes. And I never said… thanks for looking after us." I nudged him. "And sorry for what I said… and throwing you out of the room."

"And the view. It must have been scaring," I chuckled, noticing the Doctor's red cheeks and ears. It was nice that I now had something else to tease him about and it also was a bit of ammo for Martha, not that she'd use it against him. Knowing what I was thinking, the Doctor nudged me, almost causing me to fall over if he hadn't also grabbed my waist. I rolled my eyes and slapped his abdomen, grinning as I did so.

Martha joined in on the teasing, chuckling at our antics. "Never doing it again. But apology accepted." With that said, we hugged. I was happy to have another friend, even if our relationship had been slightly rocky to start. I did feel a bit bad though, with the Doctor being the only male on board, but that was quickly forgotten as I thought of all the possibilities and what would and could probably happen. I cringed as I thought of there being a man-cave on our beloved ship.

"Doctor. Martha. Rys." We turned, seeing Latimer, confidence shining through.

"Tim Timothy Timber."

"I just wanted to say goodbye. And thank you. Because I've seen the future and I now know what must be done. It's coming, isn't it? The biggest war ever."

Martha and I frowned but it was her who spoke first. "You don't have to fight."

"I think we do."

"But you could get hurt."

"Well, so could you, travelling around with them, but it's not going to stop you."

"Tim, I'd be honoured if you'd take this." The Doctor gave him the fob watch.

"I can't hear anything."

"No, it's just a watch now. But keep it with you, for good luck."

"Look after yourself," Martha told the boy, kissing his cheek before walking into the Tardis. I gave him a small smile and walked in. Going to the console, I put in the coordinates and waited for the Doctor to enter before setting her off.

I landed the Tardis near the War Memorial. After a short walk, we stood to the side as a female vicar read from "The Fallen" by Laurence Binyon. "They have no lot in our labour of the day time. They sleep beyond England's foam. They went with songs to the battle." We saw Timothy sitting in a wheelchair, an old soldier with his polished medals. "They were young, straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow. They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted." He looked up, spotting us as I placed a poppy on the Doctor's lapel. I gave the man a small wave, seeing him smile at us as I did so. "They fell with their faces to the foe. They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning. We will remember them."

When the ceremony finished, we returned to the Tardis and I put her into the vortex. Martha had gone to her room to sleep while I returned to the library, thinking. Our time in 1913 had changed me- us, our relationship. We were so unafraid to tell others of our relationship, something that would make things difficult with our current life. I loved travelling, helping people, seeing history, and being with him but, there was a part of me that wanted the life the watch had shown us. I knew we could never have that life, but it didn't change anything. I would never ask him to settle down, I didn't really want to… I just wanted to be a family- him, Kiere, and me- the three of us together again. Seeing those boys, those children, take arms reminded me so much of our child. He was still a child, a teenager, but still my baby. He was the only child I had, and I wouldn't be able to have another, not with the damage Rassilon and the High Council had inflicted. I could feel it. Although regeneration heals the body, whatever they did, caused permanent damage that carried over. I could never give the Doctor another child and that hurt.

Caught in my thoughts, I jumped as I felt the Doctor's arms snake around my waist, pulling me onto his lap. It seemed he hadn't heard my thoughts, something I was grateful for as it would break his hearts. I laid back, nestling into his chest. "What are you thinking about?"

"1913."

"What about?"

"Us. It seems no matter what form the other is in, we still are a match."

"Of course we are. You're my Ame Soeur."

"And you're mine. Do you remember how you showed me it wasn't a dream?"

"I do," he replied, his voice husky.

"Show me this isn't one." I jumped from his arms, running from the library and to his room, the Doctor hot on my trail.

* * *

_19/12/2014_

_Hey guys. I am so sorry this is WEEKS late. I have been going through personal stuff, as well as finishing up with finals. The plan was to update last Wednesday, but I had to clean and pack before going to a wedding. I took it as a bit of a holiday and ended up doing absolutely nothing in editing this chapter... although I did start editing 'Cerys'. _

_The wedding was great and I'm happy for my aunt and all, but it was insanely awkward since I was with family I don't get along with beside the aunt, her new husband, and my two uncles (and ones wife). Needless to say, I ended up drunk that night... and the rest of the time I was there. It was fun though, I got to see the friends I missed, hence the drinking, and we ended up staying up for the most part playing Super Smash Bros and me playing Dragon Age: Inquisition. Both games rock, if I must say so, although I kinda preferred Dragon Age. I'm such a loner haha. But yeah, I only got home a few days ago and have been working 8/9/10 hour shifts so I haven't been able to write much. Luckily, I forced myself to finish this chapter off with the editing since it has been such a long time. _

_So, I hope you guys liked the chapter. I tried to give a bit more insight to Cerys 'Rys' and her relationship with Martha. Gosh, if I must say so, I love John and Cerys together. They're so perfect! And John defending her when the headmaster told him to control her... *swoon*. I just loved writing these two chapters. It's so much fluff and love that I probably haven't been conveying in the previous chapters. But I will say that these chapters lead up to certain events pertaining to their relationship in the future. With that said, thanks to everyone who reads the story, has followed, favourited, and reviewed. I love seeing the emails and I hope you guys will stick around as I continue to work on it. Now then, onto the reviews. _

_**Takara Matsudaira:** I loved the fluff. I did promise it a few chapters prior. I felt like they needed the fluff after dealing with the star. Haha, that happened to me recently actually. I was so confused I ended up exiting the tab and reopening the story. Since I finished one, I won't have too much of a problem, hopefully. But I did read your one shot and I really enjoyed it. I'm sure by now you've seen my review on it, but I truly want more loz. _

_**margie-me:**Yay, I definitely won't. In that case, I'll be leaving an A/N in the near future when I've updated at least 12 chapters (since we're on 12 Doctors). Um, the italics was meant to be before the change. But yeah, Rys was supposed to keep her modernist views. With her having just come out of the bracelet, she's retained some of her usual self. The Doctor was definitely supposed to behave that way while still not conforming too much to the ideals. It's just the relationship the two have overall. I really wanted Rys and Martha to get on well since Rys made herself more open to Martha before entering the bracelet. Glad to hear the way _I incorporated Joan worked. I was slightly worried about that. Anyways, glad you enjoyed the chapter.

_**Jasmine-The True Believer:** Glad you enjoyed it. I can tell you, I get quite jealous as well. We all want someone to love us wholeheartedly and unconditionally. Sigh, now I'm feeling incredibly sad thinking about it lolz._

_**Squidtastik:** Indeed. I have to agree. Gosh. Now, I'm thinking of doing a one shot of them in 1913 with them being all lovey dovey and cute. _

_**I'm-a-Klaus-addict:** Yay fluff! In the show, I felt that if he actually was human, they'd totally be together. However, in my AU, with Cerys around, it would never work for obvious reasons. I did like her though. Not many people say no to the Doctor, especially women. I just love seeing strong female characters. These were my favourites as well. Although, who can deny Captain Jack Harkness? I know I can't. _

**_N_**_**icoleR85:** I have finally updated. Yeah, Cerys is not one to take crap like that. I kinda wanted to portray Joan as extremely stiff and completely into the Doctor until the reveal. I hope it worked out well._

**_M_**_**uirgen79:** Thanks. Yeah, I felt bad for her as well, especially considering the fact she has to take care of them since they're, more so the Doctor, are incapable of doing so themselves. No worries though, Martha will get her downtime. So glad you enjoyed it.  
_

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_Oh, and if I don't update before the 25th, Happy Holidays. Hope you guys have a good one and I can't wait to hear from you all. And this chapter literally went fro 4600 to 10,948 words. Oh yeah!_


	50. Blink

Waking up in the Doctor's arms was literally my favourite thing in the universe. I always felt safe with him but after the War- after I became human- I never truly felt that safety and now that I had it, I refused to feel that way again. This incarnation, I noticed, was a lot stronger than my previous ones. During the Time War, AFTER Rassilon had broken me, I had shut down; became nothing but a mindless soldier that did nothing but follow the orders given to a tee. I had no regrets as I carried out my tasks, nor did I care if I died. All I cared about was completing the mission. It was how I coped with being their bitch, for the lack of a better term. The nightmares still plagued me but I had begun to get past them… more so pushing it away and locking it in a large chest in the back of my mind. Not even the Doctor could reach it.

This incarnation was stronger in the mental sense. There were times where I doubted myself, the relationship the Doctor and I had, even if I should worry about Martha, but it wasn't something that continued to fester and prod at me like it used to. I was more confident, happier even. While I knew I wasn't fully healed, I knew that I was on the mend, that I was strong and that I was actually _worth _something, my life was important; my mixed blood only made me even more special, and to continue fretting about it would be like a slap in the face to my parents. They fought so hard to be together, just as the Doctor and I had and I refused to insult them to such a degree any longer.

Smiling, I curled into the Doctor and began to tickle him awake. I was met with protest, the man releasing his hold on me and turning over to his side in order to escape my assault. That did absolutely nothing to stop me, although when I saw he was beginning to rouse, I forced him to his back and straddled his waist. Lowering my head, I kissed him soundly, fully bringing my husband to consciousness. As I pulled away, his arms snaked around my middle, keeping me atop him and deepening the kiss. Smiling into it, I pulled away. "That's one way to wake me." I chuckled and rolled out of his arms and off the bed. When he hadn't moved, I grabbed his arm and began to pull him out. Taking my silent instruction, I led him to the bathroom for a shower.

Martha, the Doctor, and I hastily exited the taxi, breaking into a run as we tried to get to the scene of the hatching. It was odd that we were looking into this since it had come to us from an unknown source. As of late, we'd been careful on our trips, well as careful as we could be with the Doctor around. Yet, there we were, going after a lizard and trying to get to the eggs before they hatched and the creatures overran the planet. Martha carried a quiver of arrows and the Doctor, a long bow. I ran behind them, keeping an eye out for anything odd, not that the sight of us rushing out of the cab with those items weren't; I meant odd as in what we were looking for. As we rushed pass a DVD store, a young blonde woman ran out of it. "Doctor! Rys!"

I stopped, turning to her. The Doctor did as well. We gave each other a quick glance, questioning whether or not we knew who she was. There was nothing familiar about her and that was enough to answer the question we both had. "Hello! Sorry, bit of a rush. There's a sort of thing happening. Fairly important we stop it."

"My God, it's you. It really is you." I stared at the blonde in confusion. "Oh, you don't remember me, do you?"

I heard Martha huff before she walked over and gently grabbing my arm. "Doctor, we haven't got time for this. Migration's started."

"Look, sorry. we've got a bit of a… complex life. Things don't always happen in quite the right order. Gets a bit confusing at times, especially at weddings. I'm rubbish at weddings, especially my own."

"Yeah. He was a day and a half late." I wrapped an arm around his waist and smiled up at him before bringing my attention back to the woman. "Lucky I married him, this one."

"And I'm so glad you did," he smiled, kissing the top of my head.

"Oh, my God!" the young woman exclaimed, obviously coming to some sort of conclusion about the Doctor and I. "Of course. You're time travellers." I cocked my head to the side, pondering how she could have known that. I remained silent though, hoping to figure out how she knew. "It hasn't happened to you yet, none of it. It's still in your future."

"What hasn't happened?"

As the woman went to answer the Doctor, I slapped his arm and shot him the sternest glare I could. "Don't answer him. We shouldn't know."

"Rys, please. Twenty minutes to red hatching."

"It was me. Oh, for God's sake, it was me all along. You got it all from me."

"Got what?"

She shot me a quick glance before beginning to rattle off. "Okay. Listen. One day you're going to get stuck in 1969. Make sure you've got this with you. You're going to need it." She handed a file to me.

"Guys!"

"Yeah, listen, listen. Got to dash- things happening. Well, four things. Well, four things and a lizard."

"Okay. No worries. On you go. See you around some day."

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Sally. Sally Sparrow."

"Good to meet you, Sally Sparrow." I observed a man as approached us with a carton of milk in his hand and a dumbstruck expression on his face. I watched as she looked at him a moment before taking his free hand. A small smile crept to my lips as she did so, and from the shock the man seemed to have from the action.

"Goodbye, Doctor and Rys," she said as we took off. I turned, giving her a final look before turning a corner.

We found ourselves back in London a few adventures later since we were never really able to stay away from Earth. The ordeal with the lizards had been a bit stressful but nothing we couldn't handle. After that, I had wanted to drift through space for a while, wanting a day or so of tranquillity before we rushed back into another adventure. I was also still trying to figure out who had sent the message about the lizards. Whoever it was knew us, it was just _how._ The Doctor, surprisingly, seemed to agree with my thoughts on just resting, and after a day in the Tardis, we went ice skating on the mineral lakes of Kur-ha, just as we had planned to after we had been infected by the sun. It was only delayed because he thought it would be a wonderful idea to go somewhere else, hence our meeting the Family of Blood. Anyways, I digress, the lakes were marvellous and gorgeous, even with the freezing temperatures. The ice happened to create massive structures that seemed to be completely habitable, minus the temperatures. Still, it was a wonderful view as we skated and enjoyed a bit of down time. The Doctor had fallen quite a few times to Martha and my amusement, often pulling me down with him, not that I minded too much; he made an extremely soft pillow.

Martha seemed to be very practiced in ice skating, and while I had gotten the hang of it, I was nowhere as good as she was. At times, I found myself watching her as she did little tricks, amazed by her skill, only to be brought from my daze due to the Doctor grabbing hold of me. When we had sent him to fetch some drinks, hot chocolate for us and hot apple cider for Martha, she and I began to talk. We spoke of everything and when I mentioned how well of an ice skater she was, she informed me her family had often taken trips to the local rink before her parents' separation. I nodded, understanding what it was like to have something that was always done being ripped away. The activity was never thought of in the same way.

After a few more adventures, I noticed there had been some spikes on the Tardis' radar and with the Doctor's inquisitive nature, he wanted to investigate. To be completely honest, I did as well. The spikes were contained in a small area, which also peaked my interest, considering it was around the area we'd met Sally Sparrow. Giving the two a glance, I set the Tardis on course, landing her not too far from the area of concentration.

"What are we investigating again?"

"There was a spike. People disappearing," the Doctor replied.

"And you think it's an alien?"

"It could be," I shrugged as we walked up to a set of wrought iron gates that had a _'Danger Keep Out Unsafe Structure London County Council'_ notice on them. I smiled, and expertly climbed over it, although it was more of a vault than anything. Facing Martha and the Doctor, I saw them gaping at me, the Doctor's eyes glazed over just a bit. I quirked up a brow, confused as to why what I'd done had been such a big deal. Then again, the Doctor's thoughts were drifting to me and they weren't filtered at all. A faint blush littered my cheeks. "What?"

"How did you do that?" Martha questioned. She was impressed, at least that's what her expression read.

"I'm very flexible. Right, Doctor?"

"Yes," the man replied absentmindedly. "Very."

"I _really_ didn't need to know that."

"It's _your_ mind that instantly went to the gutter, Martha." I chuckled. "I've always been springy. It came in handy back home. Now, come on. The spike's coming from inside the house." Not waiting for them, I continued up the gravel driveway towards the house. Halfway up, I came to an abrupt stop, the feeling of being watched overcoming me. There was nothing around, at least not that I could see but the eerie feeling continued and seemed to grow in its intensity. As I scanned the area for what seemed to be an invisible force, I jumped as I felt an arm wrap around my shoulder. I groaned, realising it was just the Doctor.

"What is it?"

"I don't know. Feels like we're being watched. I don't trust the silence or that we can't _see_ anything. We need to be careful."

She shot me a cheeky grin. "Careful's my middle name."

"No it's not."

"No, it isn't. Come on. I'll protect you." I scoffed at his comment. If anything, I'd be the one saving him. The man was a danger magnet and while I knew he could easily talk his way out of any predicament, when it came down to physical altercations, he needed me. Besides, we kept each other safe, even if his instincts were to solely care about my wellbeing.

"What am I, chopped liver?"

I chuckled and turned to my friend. "No, you're Martha Jones, my friend, his companion. You have TWO Time Lords protecting you."

"Don't I feel special."

"You should. You're stuck with us for life unless otherwise stated," I replied, smiling at the woman I called friend. It had taken a while but she had become a dear friend to me; someone I could talk to when I was irritated or when I needed to talk about female things. If anything, having Martha around definitely helped me keep my sanity. If she weren't here, I'm sure the Doctor would be in med bay more than on an adventure.

Walking into the building, the feeling increased. I scanned the area, trying to find the source but could see nothing. Groaning, I decided to just take it as it went. Whatever it was would show itself in due time. As the Doctor and Martha went in another direction, I made my way upstairs. It were as if something were leading me there, like the answer to my curiosity would be answered. "Doctor!" I called as I reached the top landing, my eyes wide as I saw the statue that occupied the far corner. I heard him and Martha clamouring up the stairs behind me, only for them to stop as well.

"What is that?"

"A Weeping Angel."

"It's a statue."

"No, Martha, it's alive." I took in a breath of air. I wanted to turn to the "It's most likely the cause of all the spikes."

"So, what exactly is it? It's obviously alien."

"It is. At the moment, it's quantum locked."

"And that means what exactly?"

"While looking at it, it's a statue but the minute we blink, it moves. If it touches you, it sends you back in time to live your life, dying on the day it sends you back. It feeds on that energy… your _potential_ energy."

_'__We're going to have to do it.'_

_'__Theta…'_

_'__You trust me, right?'_

_'__Of course but Martha's going to kill you... us.'_

Knowing the Doctor had his eyes trained on the Angel, I turned to Martha, a smile on my face. "Hey Martha, you trust us, right?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"We're going to blink."

"But he just said..."

"Yeah, I know. It'll be fun," I chuckled, albeit nervously. "Never been killed by a Weeping Angel before."

"And you want to?!" she practically shrieked.

I looked at her. "Where's your sense of adventure Martha?"

"Don't you…. Fine but if you don't get us out, I'll kill you both."

"All right." I took her hand and the Doctor's before facing the Angel. "On three. Three!" I shut my eyes, feeling the pull of travelling back in time. I opened my eyes when we landed, feeling something that wasn't the ground under me. Looking down, I saw I had landed on the Doctor… my personal pillow. I smiled and quickly kissed him before standing and helping him and Martha up.

"So, when are we?"

"1969."

"And where are we?"

"Still London."

"What do we do now?"

I shrugged and began to walk out of the alley. The street we ended up on was slightly busy, a crowd of pedestrians bustling about trying to reach their destinations. "I don't know. We get a flat, wait it out. This was supposed to happen, us getting stuck in 1969."

"What do you mean?" I dug into the leather jacket pocket, pulling out the file Sally Sparrow had given us. Martha raised an eyebrow as she looked at the file. "The blonde from the DVD shop?"

"Yep. She said we'd end up 1969 and that we'd need it."

"You kept it on you for weeks?"

"Never know with a time machine." I smiled and continued to walk down the road. The Doctor's hand was firmly in mine as he let me lead him and Martha about. He seemed to realise that while I was hesitant at first, this was all exciting and new and the new me wanted to jump head first into whatever was to happen. It seemed as if I'd taken some of his attributes, although not to the same degree as his. "Anyways, come on. Let's find us a place to stay.

After a few misses, we finally found a flat off a busy street for a decent amount of money. Shockingly, we found that the landlady already knew about us, going on about a friend having set everything up and paid our rent in full. I couldn't help but find it suspicious but each time I questioned the woman, she always brushed it off. The Doctor felt the same, having voiced it once or twice but after a while, he let it go. Martha on the other hand, asked me about it and when I couldn't answer, she let it drop, saying we might as well take advantage of it. However, I ended up telling the woman that we would be paying her rent whether she wanted to take it or not.

The place was a nice two bedroom with a view of an adequate sized park below us. With that taken care of, we went off to look for jobs. Martha found one at a dress shop, which she actually enjoyed, I found an animal hospital that needed a veterinary technician. The veterinarian was a nice older gentleman, who had warmly taken to me, saying that I reminded him of his granddaughter. Unfortunately, he kept trying to convince me to date his oldest grandson, something that seemed to irritate the Doctor beyond belief since I didn't have it in my heart to tell the kind old man I was married, and happily at that. Surprisingly, the Doctor found one at an electronics shop, although after three weeks, he was fired for almost blowing the place up… again. With that mishap, Martha and I banned him from getting another job and the man was stuck home on his own for the most part, not that he seemed to mind. He did a good job at keeping himself busy.

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_Hey there all. Sorry about the delay in posting. I ended up working on a few other projects and I've been trying to find a new job. I was thinking about you all though. So this chapter is slightly shorter than the rest. I tried to add as much as I could to it but it didn't seem to be enough. Hopefully when I go back over it for the umpteenth time, it'll get longer. With that said, thanks to everyone who reviewed, read, favourited, and followed my story. I appreciate it so much. Now, onto the reviews. Oh, and happy belated holidays. _

_**NicoleR85:** Here you go :) Yep, I can't wait to post that as well. I can say the next chapters will have an amazing surprise. Just look out for details. _

_**Jasmine-The True Believer:** Same here. It chokes me up so much. When I watched it as I wrote, I definitely couldn't help but see Rys as the voice of reason and the one to really be calm, even if she were freaking out inside. So glad you liked it though. _

_**Squidtastik:** Same to you. And yep, even in a time like that, I wanted John to consider her that way especially considering how he treats her pertaining to her lineage. He never considered her a freak, just Rys. _

_**bored411:** So happy to know you enjoyed the chapter and that you're excited for the next chapter. Hope you like it._

_**MrsCastiel From Doctor Who:** Thanks so much. Will do._

_**Takara Matsudaira:** Haha, well, life definitely comes first but I'm glad you got through it. Yeah, I ended up going to Niagra Falls and then visiting my older brother so I definitely understand the craziness. So glad you saw it. I can't wait to read it. But I suppose I can wait like everyone else lolz :p. Either way, your writing is great and I enjoy it. Can't wait to hear from you. Take your time, I'm not going anywhere besides, great ideas take time. _

_SplendiferousBowties: Can't wait to hear from you. _

_**E-man-dy-S:** So glad you're enjoying Rys. But they will definitely be fun. And don't get me started with the addition of Donna :)_


	51. Returning Home

While the Doctor and I spent most of the day apart, the night was ours. Since our arrival, he'd been planning little dates, whether it was a stroll through the park, a night in cuddling, or a night of dancing, although he still had two left feet. It was nice, being as normal as we could be, without any real worries. We were living a life we never could and it was great. It was something we never had truly accomplished on Gallifrey and it was nice to finally experience the freedom to be an actual couple. He'd even gone through the trouble and purchased a small topaz ring for me, saying it was about time I had one on my finger. When I had questioned him about having one of his own, he reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a plain silver band. Smiling, I placed the one he had given me on, not bothering to hide my Cheshire cat grin as he slipped his on as well. Apart from our long awaited marital bliss, Martha found herself a nice bloke named Alan, who was a bartender at the pub we frequented. He was nice, having fit in perfectly in our little group. The nights he didn't work, he and Martha often joined the Doctor and I when we went out on some outings, mainly to the cinema. We had settled into a nice routine, but we were still ready in case something happened.

Our second month in 1969, was a bit more fun for Martha and me. With the both of us working and having only a few hours with each other, we often had impromptu shopping trips, thoroughly enjoying the attire of the year. While Martha stuck to jeans and shorts with turtlenecks, I adored the skirts. Usually I rarely ever wore them but after seeing how flustered the Doctor became the first time I tried one on, I decided to make skirts my staple, at least while we were stuck in 1969. I suppose that was the main reason I loved wearing skirts, the look on the Doctor's face as well as the thoughts that raced through his mind, utterly unfiltered. It sent a rush through me and often, it led to he and I racing to our room for a while, emerging to find that Martha had left to see Alan.

Although Martha and I were enjoying ourselves, after the passing of another month, the Doctor began to get antsy. He was worried we wouldn't get back and that the Tardis would be lost in the present until _we_ finally made it to that year… the joy of being Time Lords, the Angels would never stop feeding off our energy if we were stuck. I could understand his restlessness, I too wanted to return to our home; I was beginning to miss the blue box. To ease his troubles we decided to make the trip to Wester Drumlins on my day off so that we could paint the message for Sally.

The Doctor stood before the wall, examining it as he looked for the perfect spot to paint the already known message. "What should I put? It's not like she knows what's going on."

"'Beware the weeping angel'," I answered, glancing down at one of the pictures we'd received in the file Sally'd given us. Nodding, he painted it onto the wall. "'Oh, and duck! Really, duck!' All right, then put 'love from the Doctor and Rys (1969)'." He did as I said and we waited for the paint to dry. When it had, we added the wallpaper, something I physically helped with. Somewhere in the middle of that, we found ourselves… distracted.

"That really needs to stop happening," I breathed as I readjusted my skirt. All right, so it was probably _my_ fault we had diverted from adding the cruddy wallpaper. The era's fashion did nothing to help _his_ self-control and my teasing just removed the little restraint he did have. Yep, it was definitely my fault, not that I was complaining at all. I quite enjoyed our distraction.

"I quite enjoyed myself."

"I never said I didn't. I just meant, while we worked, that's all."

"We're always working, Rys, you especially since we got here. What's a little break?" he said, pulling me to him and nuzzling my neck, placing light butterfly kisses along it. I shivered and leaned into him, beginning to give in. Without a doubt, I was a sucker for his kisses, especially since he knew exactly what points to target.

_'__Theta…'_

_'__Hmm.'_

_'__You're distracting me again.'_

_'__You always distract me. It's only fair.'_

"Let's finish this up and then we can go back to the flat and finish _this_ up," I said as I faced him and pressed a firm kiss on his lips before pulling out of his grasp.

"Fine." We both quickly finished applying the wallpaper, making sure to leave a piece of it off the wall so that when Sally found it, she could easily pull it off. Returning back to the flat, we barely said hello to Martha, more so the Doctor, as he dragged me to our room. That was where we stayed for the next day, with me giving in to him again and calling out of work.

Returning to the flat from work a few days later, I found the Doctor sitting at the kitchen table messing with the toaster. While I was irritated that he'd destroyed yet another toaster, the third one, I sighed, knowing he needed to fiddle with something while we were away. Martha and I were able to convince him to leave the actual apartment wiring alone so the fact that he was messing with another appliance was better than the alternative. Grinning to myself, and shielding my thoughts, I went over and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, blowing a puff of air onto his ear before kissing his cheek. Almost a second later, the toaster sparked and a fire started up. I jumped back, laughing as he struggled to put it out. When it had died, he faced me, his cheeks flushed as he glared at me. "You did that on purpose."

"Maybe." I shrugged and moved to the sofa, plopping down and throwing my legs up. It had been a long day for me, with the clinic having twelve surgeries that day, and one of the veterinarians had left early due to a family emergency. That basically threw most of his responsibilities onto me, having been the only one with enough knowledge to perform the surgeries. The Doctor joined me, lifting my legs so he could sit and placing them on his lap. Removing my shoes, he began to massage my feet. I closed my eyes, enjoying the tension that left my body and appreciating the man even more. "You're just so cute when you get flustered." He rolled his eyes and groaned. He didn't particularly like being called cute; often saying he was more foxy than anything and I wholeheartedly agreed. Doing a quick glance around the flat, I noticed Martha wasn't home. She normally got there before I did. "Have you noticed Martha spends most of her time out of the flat? I'm glad she's with Alan but I'm starting to miss having her around."

"You're such a tease." I stuck my tongue out at him. "Well, let her enjoy her time with Alan. Doubt we'll be here any longer… at least I hope we aren't. You can cook up a girl's night with her."

"Of course I am. Would you prefer a prude for a wife? But that's a brilliant idea."

"No." He shook his head and leant forward, kissing me quickly before resting his head on my chest. "Wouldn't let me do half the things we've done."

I clicked my tongue, moving my hand to his hair. This ended up being our position on the nights we spent indoors. I loved his hair, and he loved when I stroked his. It had a soothing effect on us both and at the moment, it was calming him of his fear of being stuck in 1969. I knew he was terrified of not getting back, but I knew we wouldn't be trapped, especially if what was written in the file was true. If anything, it felt as if we were nearing our time in 1969, something I was both happy and sad about. I was happy we would get back to travelling but there was the sadness of leaving behind the domestic life we were able to acquire, the life we'd never have. Shaking the thoughts away, I smiled down at him, running my fingers through his unruly hair again. "Exactly. So, what were you making?"

"Timey-wimey detector."

"Alright, then." I pushed him up and stood, pulling him back to the kitchen table where he had all the tools. "Let me help."

He groaned as I pushed him onto the chair. I could tell he was quite comfortable in the position we were in, but he needed to finish up his device so that we would know when Billy arrived. "You'll only distract me."

"Then I'll be doing _part_ of my job," I replied with a smile before sitting on his lap. I picked up the sonic and started to help him put together his timey-wimey detector, making sure to fix a few kinks that had showed up.

A few days later and once we had finished up the detector (it was still a bit faulty but it seemed to at least be functional), we decided to record the video for Sally. Martha stood behind the camera, recording us while the Doctor sat a table with me on his lap. I'd taken a liking to it- just sitting there. It was the mere closeness that was associated with it. Sometimes I'd lean back on him, loving being in his arms but times when we were working, I leaned forward, giving my undivided attention to the task at hand, although he was always quick to distract me, feigning neglect. I glanced up, seeing Alan standing close to Martha. She'd asked if she could tell him about our situation and after months of knowing the man, I figured what the hell. He was trustworthy enough and if anything did slip, the Doctor or I would erase us from his memory, not that that was an option I would take. Besides, a part of me felt sorry for the man. He was crazy about Martha and while they were practically perfect for each other, he knew from the beginning she wasn't going to stay long. However, when I threatened the man with memory erasure, the poor soul flushed red, sputtering that he'd keep it to his dying day, something I laughed at and highly approved of.

"Yep. That's us."

"Yes, he does," I inputted, replying to what Larry had said.

"Yep. And this."

"Are you going to read out the whole thing?" the Doctor and I questioned at the same time, knowing that Larry had been going on with us.

"We're time travellers. Or, we _were_. We're stuck in 1969."

Martha handed the camera to Alan who moved the lens to her. "All of space and time, he promised me. Oh, where's your sense of adventure, Martha, she said. Now, we've got jobs… supporting him!"

"Martha."

"Sorry." She moved and grabbed the camera from Alan. I watched as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pecked her temple. Just watching them made me want to bring the man along with us. Yet, I knew he would never leave his time, he had too many ties that would keep him wanting to return. He was content with the life he lived, it was enough for him and I held nothing against him for that and I'm sure Martha didn't as well.

"Quite possibly."

"'Fraid so."

"Thirty eight," I corrected the woman.

"People don't understand time. It's not what you think it is."

"Complicated."

"Very complicated."

I lightly elbowed him, not appreciating that he felt that she wouldn't understand. It reminded me of how he was the same with Martha in 1913. The man had no clue that people could understand complicated things, especially if they were asking questions. Nothing was better than curiosity and Sally wanted to know what was going on, she wanted to understand why she was involved in the situation and how she could be communicating with people thirty eight years in the past. "Stop it." He glanced at me. "She's listening. She wants to know."

The Doctor sighed, giving into my words. As much as I loved him, he knew just how much I disliked that trait of his. It was one that carried on with each regeneration and it only seemed to get worse with each one. "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of… wibbly wobbly, timey-wimey… stuff."

I shook my head, knowing that explanation escaped him mid-sentence. "Yes, that helps so much, dear."

"It got away from me, yeah," he confessed, rubbing the back of his neck. I chuckled and turned, kissing his cheek. He gave my torso a quick squeeze as I turned back to the camera.

"Well, we _can_ hear you, Sally."

"Well, not hear you, exactly. But we know everything you're going to say."

"Look to your left." I nodded my head.

"We've got a copy of the finished transcript." I held up the file. "It's on our Autocue."

"Time travellers. We got it in the future."

"Yeah." I smiled. "Wibbly wobbly, timey-wimey."

"What matters is, we can communicate. We have got big problems now. They've taken the blue box, haven't they? The Angels have the phone box."

"Creatures from another world."

"When you see them, yeah."

"The lonely assassins, they used to be called. No one quite knows where they came from, but they're as old as the universe- or very nearly. And they have survived this long because they have the most perfect defence system ever evolved. They are quantum-locked- they don't exist when they're being observed. The moment they are seen by any other living creature, they freeze into rock. No choice. It's a fact of their biology. In the sight of any living thing, they literally turn to stone. And you can't kill a stone. Course, a stone can't kill you either. But then you turn your head away, then you blink, and oh yes, it can."

"But that's why they cover their eyes, Sally. They aren't weeping. They just can't look at each other. It's their greatest curse and advantage. They can never be seen. They're the loneliest creatures in the universe," I explained, glancing from the screen. I couldn't help but feel bad for the Weeping Angels, never being able to see another like them. It was disheartening but it also made me so appreciative that the Doctor and I had both escaped the Time War and that we'd received a second chance.

"And I'm sorry- I am very, very sorry- It's up to you now."

"The blue box- it's our time machine, our home. There is a world of time energy in there they could feast on forever, but the damage they could do would switch off the sun. You have got to send it back to us. And… that's it, I'm afraid. There's no more from you on the transcript- that's the last I've got. I don't know what stopped you talking, but I can guess."

"Sally, they're coming. The angels are coming for _you_. Your life will depend on this. Don't blink. Don't even blink. Blink and you're dead. They are fast. Faster than you could believe. Don't turn your back. Don't look away. And don't blink. Be safe."

I stood, going to stand by the edge of the room. I felt bad, having the girl fighting against the weeping angels. They were the nicest killers I'd ever met but they were deadly nonetheless. A part of me wished we had stayed but that wasn't how it worked. We were supposed to be there, the transcript was proof of that and I knew Sally would be fine, considering _she_ had given me the file. Still, I felt some responsibility; I doubt I would be okay if she was hurt. Sighing, I turned as I felt the Doctor wrap his arms around me, his mind reaching out to mine, comforting me the best he could. Smiling up at him, I took his hand and the four of us returned to the flat.

Two long weeks later, and after a lot of trial and error, the timey-wimey detector was working properly, without any problems but one. Two days after that, it went off. Lucky enough, the three of us were surprisingly home at the same time and the moment we heard the alarm, the three of us raced out the flat, following the beeping down an alleyway. That was where we found a young black man sliding down a wall. We slowly approached him, the Doctor still holding the device. "Welcome!" he cheerily said. I could understand why he was enthusiastic about Billy's arrival. It meant that we were one step closer to being home. We were all ready to return to the Tardis; four and a half months had passed since we'd first arrived.

"Where am I?"

"1969. Not bad, as it goes. You've got the moon landing to look forward to."

"Oh, the moon landing's brilliant. We went four times, back when we had transport…"

The Doctor turned to her, an unhappy look on his face. "Working on it."

"How did I get here?"

"The same way we did- the touch of an angel. Same one, probably, since you ended up in the same year." Billy tried to stand but the Doctor pushed him back down and sat beside him. As he did that, I knelt in front of the man, examining him for any time sickness. "No, no. No, no, no, don't get up. Time travel without a capsule- nasty. Catch your breath. Don't go swimming for half an hour." I rolled my eyes at his last comment, not understanding exactly why the man would go swimming after being ripped from his time.

"I don't- I can't…"

"Fascinating race, the Weeping Angels. The only psychopaths in the universe to kill you nicely. No mess, no fuss. They just zap you into the past and let you live to death. The rest of your life used up and blown away in the blink of an eye. You die in the past, and in the present they consume the energy of all the days you might have had- all your stolen moments. They're creatures of the abstract. They live off potential energy."

"What in God's name are you talking about?"

"Trust me, just nod when he stops for a breath. Rys is the only one who can keep up." I reached a hand out to slap Martha's leg but she stepped back, chuckling as I fell backwards. Grumbling under my breath, I stood and went to lean against the opposite wall.

"Tracked you down with this. This is my timey-wimey detector. It goes 'ding' when there's stuff. Also, it can boil an egg at thirty paces. Whether you want it to or not, actually, so I've learned to stay away from hens. It's not pretty when they blow."

"John really wasn't happy with you about that. Still isn't." John was the farmer we'd run into on one of our nightly walks. He had invited us up to his farm one weekend for a bit of relaxation and the Doctor had taken the timey-wimey detector with him in the last few days of experimentation. We had discovered the flaw as we sat near the hen house early one morning and John had been leaving with a basket of eggs. It didn't end well.

"He'll be fine."

"I don't understand. Where am I?"

"1969, like he says."

"Normally, I'd offer you a lift home, but somebody nicked our motor. So I need you to take a message to Sally Sparrow. And I'm sorry, Billy. I am very, very sorry. It's going to take you a while."

A week later, the Tardis finally materialized in the park. The moment I heard the distinctive wheezing of her breaks, I jumped from the bath and threw on my old clothes in lightning speed before bolting outside and throwing my arms around the box. To those around me, it probably looked odd but I was so happy to see her that I didn't care. It had been five months since we'd seen the beloved box. The Doctor arrived next, patting her. "All right, come on. I want to go inside." Martha ran up to us, taking in gulps of air as she came to a stop. A broad smile played on her lips as she took in the sight of the Tardis. She was just as happy as us that we were leaving.

"What about all your stuff?"

"I have your old jacket and the clothes I arrived in. Don't need that stuff. Just you, Martha, and the Tardis." He smiled and led us inside. Before he could input coordinates, I realised I was missing something and ran back outside, racing up to the flat. Rushing to the bedroom, I rummaged through the bedside table, finally finding what I was searching for. Picking up the small ring the Doctor had given me, I raced back to the Tardis, seeing Martha sitting on the jump seat. "I _did_ forget something," I said holding up my hand, showing him the ring. I saw him beam as he pushed up a lever and putting us in the vortex.

When we were safely drifting, I went to my room, wanting to be alone. Ever since 1913, I've had Kiere on my mind. I had been blocking it from the Doctor, knowing just how much his death had hurt him. Lying on the bed, I let out my tears. I was happier than I'd ever truly been but those thoughts still hurt, the potential he had, the life he could have had. I could see the three of us, travelling through time and space seeing the amazing and saving the universe. He would have been remarkable, just like his father.

"Well, I think more like his mother."

"Theta! What are you doing in here?"

"I could hear you. Although you were blocking your thoughts, you were also projecting them."

"Oh." I wiped away the lingering tears and chuckled. "I really didn't want you to hear that."

He pulled me against him, holding me tightly. "I know but I really don't like you crying. I couldn't help myself."

"You never did. It was always worse when you were the reason for my tears," I whispered, thinking back to our early life on Gallifrey.

"I still haven't forgiven myself."

"I have. I was angry but it was because you were leaving, finally doing what _we_ had spent so many years talking about. You didn't even come back, and when you did, you'd regenerated… and I wasn't even there for you."

"In all fairness, I hadn't been there for any of yours."

"We _should have_ been there for each other, Theta."

"Yes, but things are different now. We're together and I am _never_ letting you go. That's what I do, hold on tight."

"And running."

"But I'll _always_ run to you."

"Same for you. Always and forever."

* * *

_8/01/2015_

_Hey there all. I am finally updating early. Well, early enough. We now have the conclusion to BLINK. I had so much fun writing the chapter, as well as adding more and fleshing it out a bit. Before, it was literally nothing so I'd have to say it came a bit of a way. Like the previous chapter, this one is a bit short but with UTOPIA coming up, I think that'll make up for it in length._

_Oh, and who's irritated at the fact there's no preview button anymore? I definitely used that to gauge chapter lengths and whether or not more could be added. Is it just me? Maybe it is, I don't know. I just want the button back :( _

_In other news, I have started working on the new DW fic. All of you who voted will definitely see which name won the poll. I have decided on the starting episode but if you have any requests on what should be the second chapter/episode, please let me know. With that said, thanks to all who favourited, reviewed, and followed. I really appreciate it. Can't wait to hear from you all. _

_**Nicole85:** So glad that you enjoyed it. Hopefully you liked this one. And the next few will definitely be surprising. _

_**Jasmine- The True Believer:** Yep, I wanted it to be a conscious decision amongst the three of them, even if Martha was against it. Same, I do love Donna as well. I am up to her in my writing and I will say that she's a wonderful addition to the Tardis family. Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter. _

_**Squidtastik:** Yeah, he almost succeeded the second time. That was when Rys was called in to remove him. Haha, was it worth the wait :)_

_**Takara Matsudaira:** Glad to hear. Haha, that was an option but I really wanted them to be sent together. I might actually do that for the new fic I plan on writing. Although, there was one I thought of where the Doctor was a complete dick to my OC and that would probably fit better but eh, that idea will probably pop up in one fic or another. _

_Anytime. It was a really good oneshot and credit is always given where credit is due, at least that's what I tend to go by. I will say, however, your comment left me grinning like Nine when he was on Platform One in THE END OF THE WORLD haha. Yay, I can't wait to check it out. I can guarantee I'll probably be bugging you for a new chapter each time I reach the end . I'll try not to do that though. I know things come before writing but if I happen to, just let me know and I'll make sure not to. _


	52. The Year One Hundred Trillion

After the night's talk and a bit of a few days to rest, making sure to visit a few places Martha wanted to go, we brought the Tardis round to Cardiff, Roald Dahl Plass to be exact. It instantly brought on memories of Rose and Jack and the Doctor's 9th incarnation. I smiled at the memories, reliving the good times we had the three of us. I thought specifically back to the Doctor and my first date, so to speak, minus Margaret there, and it was the last adventure we all had together before I had basically killed him. Jolted from my thoughts by the Doctor's hand taking mine and giving it a squeeze, I met his gaze from the captain's seat.

_'__You didn't kill me, Ceryssida. I willingly took it in to save you."_

_'__Got our first kiss out of it.'_

_'__That was not our first kiss.'_

_'__First kiss since __**finding **__each other, Theta. Especially since YOU knew who I was.'_

_'__Well then, I suppose it was.'_

I smiled up at him and gently pushed him away, getting to my feet as I did so. Taking hold of his hand again,

"Cardiff."

"Cardiff?" Martha deadpanned, staring at us in disbelief.

"Yep. It's built on a rift in time and space, sort of like California and the San Andres Fault. Except, the rift bleeds raw energy. Every once in a while we need to open the engine and soak up that energy for fuel," I said, walking over to the monitor.

"So it's a pit stop."

"Exactly. Should only take twenty seconds. Interesting, the rift's been active." I shot him a concerned glance. Earth didn't really have the equipment to use the rift, hell, they barely knew about it. The fact that it had been active generally confused and worried me. There had to be something else going on, or someone who had knowledge on how to harness the rift energy.

"Wait a minute! They had an earthquake in Cardiff a couple years ago. Was that you?"

"Yep. Different faces, though. We had some trouble with the Slitheen."

"Long time ago. Lifetimes. I was a different man back then."

"Yeah. We both were different people. Barely got along, the two of us. We'd argue and then Rose would push us together since I was the only one who could talk sense into him."

"You still do that."

"Yeah. I suppose unconsciously, we were drawn to each other, although I didn't realize it, or how I felt until he regenerated."

"But you were married?"

I nodded. "I didn't know then. I was human. There was the attraction, but I didn't really know why. Nor did I really act on it."

He rushed to my side, flipping switches as he did so, closing the engines. "Right. _Finito!_ All powered up." I glanced at him, seeing his attention was on the screen, his lips turned down in a slight frown. Immediately, I grew wary, knowing that whatever brought it on, was not something good. Going to his side, I looked to see Jack running towards us. As the Doctor pulled down a lever, setting the time rotor in motion, I punched his arm, extremely put off by what he was doing. There was also the shock there. I had thought Jack died on Satellite One. To see him making his way to us, I couldn't help but wonder exactly what happened that day. Suddenly, there was a bang and the console sparked, the ferocious jolts sending us to the floor.

"Whoa! What's that?"

"This is your fault, Doctor," I angrily spat as I stood and grabbed onto the console. His arm wound around my waist, holding me steady and keeping me from falling again. In my anger, I elbowed him in the stomach but he kept his arm around me, ignoring the pain since I knew I hit him hard enough.

"We're accelerating into the future- the year one billion. Five billion. Five trillion. Fifty trillion? What? The year one hundred trillion? That's impossible!"

"Why? What happens then?"

I grimaced. "The end of the universe, Martha."

The Tardis jolted to a stop and I pulled from the Doctor's arms and ran to the door, pushing against it. From the link I had with the Tardis, I knew the locked door was not her doing but that of the moron I married. Clenching my fists in an attempt to calm down, I turned and faced him. "Unlock the damn door."

"Well, we've landed," he said, ignoring me.

"Doctor… I am being _very_ calm. Unlock the door."

Martha looked between us, cautious. She hadn't seen me cross with him and while he knew what to expect, she did not. For her sake, I did my best to keep my anger under some form of control. It was taking everything in my power to do so but it was shocking just how calm I was. "Er, so what's out there?"

"I don't know."

"Oh. Say that again. That's rare."

"If he doesn't open this door he'll never say it again, at least not with that mouth." He gulped and nodded pressing a button on the console. With another glare at him, and uttering a few choice words, I pushed against the door again and it opened, letting me out.

It was dark out and from a quick glance at the sky, I realised that there were no stars… that they had all died. Sighing, I took in the rest of my surroundings, gasping when I saw Jack lying unconscious on the ground just a few feet away from the Tardis. Without much thought, I quickly raced to his side, dropping to the ground and putting his head on my lap, stroking his hair as I waited for him to come round. From the moment I saw Jack, I couldn't help but feel something radiating from him. It was like he was something wrong, at least to the universe. The more I thought about it, the more he seemed as if he were something extremely definite, something that was a fixed point. While everything within me told me he was wrong, I couldn't help but ignore it. He was Jack, the man I'd confided in so many nights when neither of us could sleep, the one who, when Rose wasn't available, knew practically all my secrets. Deep in my thoughts, I barely registered that the two followed me out until I heard Martha's voice. "Oh my God!" I glanced up as Martha knelt beside me and checked his neck. "Can't get a pulse." Our friend looked up at the Doctor, seeming to realise something. "Hold on. You've got that medical kit thing." She ran back inside and the Doctor came over.

"Hello again. Oh, I'm sorry."

With one look at Jack, I turned my head away, keeping the comforting stroke of his hair. Guilt coursed through me as I did so; I tried to combat the thoughts but they were too strong. I couldn't help but feel responsible for his current condition, for the life he was forced to live. It was my fault. I was terrified he would hate me, for abandoning him, for leaving him in the state he ended up in. I didn't want him to, but I would understand if he did. "We did this to him, Rose and me?"

"Don't start, Rys."

"But it's the truth. Do you think he'll hate me?" I whispered, the dread that he would making itself known.

Before the Doctor could reply, Martha returned with the kit and knelt down beside us. "Here we go. Get out the way!" She pushed the Doctor aside, hurrying to the man in my arms. I refused to let him go and she seemed to realise it. She didn't bother to say a word to me as she did her work, Martha Jones the medical student taking over as she did so. It was one of the things I liked about her; she was always level-headed in stressful situations. It helped to keep others collected enough when in danger. "It's a bit odd, though. Not very hundred trillion. That coat's more like World War Two."

"He came with us."

"How do you mean? From Earth?"

"Must have been clinging to the outside of the Tardis. All the way through the vortex. Well, that's very him."

"What, do you know him?"

"Friend of ours- used to travel with us… back in the old days."

"But he's… I'm sorry, there's no heartbeat. There's nothing. He's dead." Jack gasped and reached up, grabbing Martha who screamed out in terror. I couldn't blame her; she wasn't expecting the man she pronounced dead just seconds earlier to actually wake up. "Oh, so much for me! It's all right. Just breathe deep. I've got you."

"Captain Jack Harkness. And who are you?" he questioned, caressing her chin a bit. I rolled my eyes at him. Even coming back from death and the man was still an enormous flirt. Then again, I wouldn't want my ex-Time Agent friend any other way. It wouldn't sit right with me.

"Martha Jones."

"Nice to meet you, Martha Jones."

"Oh, don't start."

"I was only saying hello."

"I don't mind," Martha replied with a wide smile. As usual, his pheromones were practically impossible to resist and Martha was falling under his spell hard and fast.

Jack ignored him and smirked at my black haired friend. When he finally averted his eyes, they met mine. "And _who_ are you?"

I could hear the Doctor mentally calling out vulgarities as the man gave me his thousand watt smile. If it had been any other day, any other time, I would have loved to play along, but I was too cheerful and worried to the fact that he was alive, that he was in front of me… well laying on my lap, and that there was a possibility that he might not be happy with me at all. "Not with her, Jack."

"Why not? Her look is very… _dominatrix_. I like, no love, it." I rolled my eyes at him as Martha helped him up. I stood, brushing off my pants and going over to the Doctor, taking his hand. Jack watched the action, a frown plastered on his lips. For whatever reason, he was unhappy about the Doctor and me holding hands. I pondered it for a while before realising he didn't know I was Cerys. He must have thought the Doctor moved on and forgot about me to some degree. "Doctor," the man said harshly.

"Captain."

"Good to see you."

"And you, same as ever. Although…have you had work done?" He motioned to his face and I chuckled a bit. It did seem as if Jack had gotten something done, but it was nothing too drastic, much to my content. I was glad for that. I would never forgive him if he did something major, something that left him unrecognisable.

"You can talk," Jack replied, slightly offended.

"Oh yes, the face. Regeneration. How did you know this was me?"

"The police box kind of gives it away. I've been following you for a long time. You abandoned me." I turned to the Doctor, glaring at him. That was something I _didn't_ know about. I thought Jack had died that day. Obviously seeing him told me he hadn't but I was curious as to how exactly he was alive and how he got away from Satellite One.

"Did I? Busy life. Moving on." I slapped his abdomen, much to Jack and Martha's amusement, although, Jack's quickly faded.

"Just got to ask- the Battle of Canary Wharf. I saw the list of the dead. I- It said Rose and Cerys Tyler."

"Oh, no! Sorry, Rose's alive."

"And Cerys? You never let her out of your sight. Held onto her with everything you had. She- she's all right, right?"

"Still does," Martha muttered under her breath, not that Jack seemed to hear.

I smiled, released the Doctor's hand and walked over to him, wrapping my arms around his middle, causing the man to hold his hand up in surprise. While I wasn't much shorter than him before, in my current body, I was a lot shorter than him, my head barely reaching his chin. "Hey there stud."

He placed his arms on my shoulder and pushed me back a bit, examining me. A smile crept on his face as he did so. From our time together, that was what I took to calling him after a certain adventure and it just stuck. It also seemed to irritate the Doctor to no end, which made it worthwhile for Jack. He always loved getting under his skin. "You're kidding!"

"Cerys?"

"Yep."

"But how?"

"I'm a Time Lady. I changed my biology to human a while after the war and ended up on Earth. But, er, I'm the one who married that idiot."

Jack whipped his head between the Doctor and me. "Married? Wait, what?"

"It was centuries ago," I answered with the wave of a hand.

"473 years ago." I gawped at the Doctor, beaming like a moron that he knew the exact amount of years, especially considering I only remembered it was a while over 450 years. It was nice that he remembered exactly how long it had been, even if the early years weren't the greatest.

"What?"

"Yeah. But Rose's safe in a parallel world. Mickey and mum are there too."

"Oh, yes!" Jack hugged me again, this time picking me up and twirling me before going to hug the Doctor. As I watched, I couldn't help but feel a slight tingling wash over me, like there was something wrong, not just with the place, but with Jack. Shaking it off, I put on a smile, knowing Jack wasn't _what_ I remembered him to be, but not wanting to believe that even though he was human still, he was something more as well.

"Don't you kiss him, Jack. Those lips are mine." Just to spite me though, he did just what I asked him not to. I playfully punched his arm before pulling him away from the Doctor and Martha. I wanted to speak with him in private, away from prying ears. "I'm sorry we left you. I- I didn't even know." Tears began to fall from my eyes. I was extremely happy to see him, but the guilt was unbearable. "I heard the Daleks… I heard them kill you."

"What happened?"

"After he sent Rose away, we heard you die. The Daleks were going to kill us but she came back. She took in the heart of the Tardis. I tried to save her but, I made matters worse, the energy transferring to me. The Doctor… he took it from me and it… killed him. I killed him."

"No, that man loves you. I bet if he had a second go, he'd do it again. But tell me, how did you get like," he gestured to my new appearance, "this?"

"Yeah, um… after Rose was taken to the parallel world, I felt I didn't have any reason to be alive… I was mainly staying for her and mum." I answered truthfully, wiping away my tears.

"Don't tell me you…" I looked away from him, silently answering his question. "So Time Lady?"

"Before I made myself human, I knew it was a possibility so I put a failsafe on my bracelet. In all aspects, I succeeded. That part of me is dead… for the most part." Jack sighed and pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. When he released me, I glanced up at him, worry coursing through me as I went to ask the one thing that had plagued me from the moment I saw him. "So you're not cross with me?"

"No. I'm just glad your both alive."

"Thank you, Jack."

"Loving the lace and leather by the way. Very sexy." I chuckled, tossing in a comment about the Doctor loving it too and gaining a cheeky grin from my friend before we both joined the two. Taking the Doctor's hand, the four of us began to walk through the dark terrain, Jack telling Martha the story of how we met and separated. "So there I was, stranded in the year two hundred one hundred, ankle deep in Dalek dust, and he goes off without me. But I had this." He held up his arm, showing off his Vortex Manipulator. "I used to be a Time Agent. It's called a vortex manipulator. He's not the only one who can time travel."

"Oh, excuse me. That is not time travel. It's like, I've got a sports car and you've got a space hopper."

"Oh ho! Boys and their toys," Martha laughed.

"All right, so I bounced. I thought 21st century- the best place to find the Doctor. Except that I got it a little wrong. Arrived in 1869. This thing burnt out, so it was useless."

"Told you."

"I had to live through the entire twentieth century, waiting for a version of you that would coincide with me. Oh, and by the way, you're welcome." I glanced at him confused. "For the flat, 1969."

I stared at him, dumbstruck. "How'd you even know about that?"

"Got a visit from a friend of yours. Didn't disclose much info but she did say you'd be needing a place."

"What friend? How could anyone have known?"

"She said you'd ask that, Cerys. Told me to tell you 'spoilers'." I grumbled at the word. For the most part, I was incredibly irritated that the woman seemed to know so much about me that she knew what I would say. Whoever she was, I obviously trusted her enough, but it was still annoying not having answers.

"But wait a minute, that makes you more than one hundred years old."

"And lookin' good, don't you think?" he chuckled. "So, I went to the time rift, based myself there, 'cause I knew you'd come back to refuel. Until finally I get a signal on this, detecting you, and here we are."

"But the thing is, how come you left him behind, Doctor?"

"I was busy."

"Is that what happens, though, seriously? Do you just get bored with us one day and disappear?"

"Not if you're blonde or Cerys."

"Oh, she was blonde? What a surprise!" Martha teased.

"Actually, _I_ wouldn't let him leave Rose behind, her being my sister and all," I interjected, coming to the Doctor's defence.

"You two! We're at the end of the universe, all right? Right at the edge of knowledge itself, and you're busy… blogging! Come on." The Doctor stormed off and I shrugged at them, knowing why he was upset and being glad that he was.

"Rose is a sore topic for me, that's all." The pair nodded, Jack understanding more than anything before we followed after my idiot husband. Reaching him, we found ourselves on the edge of a cliff. Glancing over the verge, we saw what looked to be an underground city of some sort.

"Is that a city?"

"City or a hive or a nest or a conglomeration. Like it was grown. But look. There. It's like… pathways, roads. Must have been some sort of life. Long ago."

"What killed it?"

"Time. Just time. Everything's dying now. All the great civilizations have gone. This isn't just night. All the stars have burned up and faded away… into nothing."

"They must have an atmospheric shell. We should be frozen to death."

"Well, Martha and I, maybe. Rys can withstand even the most extreme temperatures. Not so sure about you, Jack." I jabbed him in the rib for his comment. There was no way I was going to allow him to be rude to one of my closest friends. Jack, seeing my action, dipped his head in thanks. The Doctor grabbed hold on my elbow and pulled me in front of him, his chin resting atop my head.

"What about the people? Does no one survive?

"I suppose… we have to hope life will find a way."

"Well, he's not doing too bad," Jack said, pointing to a man racing through the terrain, pursued by a group of savage like people.

"Human!" a voice cried, followed by growls and chants.

"Is it me, or does that look like a hunt? Come on!" The four of us took off, running to the man.

Jack barked out a laugh, catching my attention. With a quick glance in his direction, I saw a large smile plastered on his face. "Oh, I've missed this!" We finally met up with the man and Jack grabbed onto him. "I've got you."

"They're coming! They're coming!" Jack pulled out his revolver and aimed it at the man's pursuers.

"Jack, don't you dare!" The Doctor ordered. Jack looked back at me and I shook my head. I really didn't want to be around another gun and it would have been so much worse that Jack would be shooting one. Groaning, he fired into the air, the noise causing the mob to stop in their tracks, most likely in fear.

"Oh! What the hell are they?"

"There's more of them. We've got to keep going!"

"I've got a ship nearby. It's safe. It's not far. It's over there," the Doctor said as he pointed to were the Tardis was, showing that a mass of the man's pursuers had gathered on the cliff and blocked our path. "Or maybe not."

"We're close to the silo. If we get to the silo, then we're safe!"

"Silo?"

"Silo."

"Silo for me."

"Shut up and run, you idiots!" Listening to me, and seeing that the people/creatures were gaining on us, the four of them ran after me. The beings quickly took off after us, some managing to make it a few feet behind us. Seeing that Martha had begun to slow down, I reached back and grabbed her hand, pulling her along with me. I refused to lose someone to those creatures, especially Martha.

As we approached the silo gates, which just seemed to be metal chain link with spiralled barbed wire on top, the man with us began to yell, alerting the men who stood guard. "It's the Futurekind! They're coming! Open the gate!"

The guard came to the meshed gate and aimed his gun at us as we reached, his weapon primed and ready. His gaze was hardened and showed no ounce of mercy. He was basically mothing but a soldier trying to protect the people. "Show me your teeth! Show me your teeth! Show me your teeth!"

"Show him your teeth!" We all smiled, grimaced, whatever that would give the man a good glimpse of our choppers. Once he seemed to be satisfied, he lowered the gun and nodded to the other guards.

"Human! Let them in! Let them in!" The metal gates were opened and the five of us quickly rushed in. "Close! Close! Close!" the guard ordered as he fired his machine gun at the ground before the group of hunters as they drew too close.

The leader, or who seemed to be the leader, of the group stepped forward, pointing at us. "Humans. Humani. Make feast."

"Go back to where you came from. I said, go back. Back!"

"Oh, don't tell him to put _his_ gun down," Jack grumbled.

"He's not my responsibility."

"And I am? Huh, that makes a change." I patted Jack's arm, silently apologizing to him. I could understand his disdain for the Doctor but I really didn't want Jack to fire his gun, not while with us. It was just something that made me feel incredibly uncomfortable. He just smiled and wrapped an arm around my shoulder until the Doctor pulled me from him. "That wasn't very nice."

"My wife."

"Shut up, the both of you," I smirked, moving over to Martha instead. I placed a hand on her arm, breaking her gaze from the Futurekind as they seemed to be called. After a quick exchange of words, I came to the conclusion that she was all right for the most part.

"Kind watch you. Kind hungry." With a yell, the group turned and walked away.

"Thanks for that."

"Right. Let's get you inside." We followed the soldier, the man we had ultimately rescued walking side by side with him.

"My name is Padrafet Shafecane. Tell me- just tell me- can you take me to Utopia?"

"Oh yes, sir. Yes, I can."

As we entered into the silo, the Doctor described what the Tardis looked like to another guard. Sure, a big blue box sitting in the middle of an otherwise deserted area should give some hint, but with the Tardis' perception filter, those who really didn't know of it, or what to look for, would probably never see or just ignore her. As the Doctor did that, Jack, Martha, and I went off to the side, examining our current surrounding. "It looks like a box, a big blue box. I'm sorry, but I really need it back. It's stuck out there."

Before the man could reply to the Doctor, the man we'd rescued spoke up. "I'm sorry, but my family were heading for the silo. Did they get here? My mother is Kistane Shafecane. My brother's name is Beltone."

"The computers are down, but you can check the paperwork. Creet!" A young boy with curly blond hair and big blue eyes peeked out from around a corner at the sound of his name. "Passenger needs help."

The boy walked over with a clipboard. "Right. What do you need?" Padra went over to him, looking down the lists.

"A blue box, you said?"

"Big, tall, wooden, says 'Police'."

"We're driving out for the last water collection. I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you."

"Come on." We looked down to see that the young boy standing in front of us ready to lead us on.

"Sorry, but how old are you?" Martha questioned. Like Rose, she seemed to forget that time periods were different and that with things being completely different, it was bound to be some things that didn't really coincide with her time.

"Old enough to work," the boy smartly replied. "This way." Shrugging our shoulders, we followed after him.

As we walked down the people littered corridors, I couldn't help but notice the walls were covered in pictures, mostly loved ones who might have been lost. I felt a small shudder run through my back. It felt like the war again, seeing the people huddled together and worried that their loved ones had been killed or missing. Before Rassilon had taken me, I was like them, huddled in a corner of the room with Kiere, waiting for news on the Doctor, and after Kiere had been taken, him as well, although, that completely changed once I was taken. Once Rassilon had broken me, I didn't care about anyone; I actually forgot all about the Doctor and Kiere. It wasn't until Arcadia did I feel anything, when I saw young children running, crying, and huddling together in an attempt to stay safe, to stay alive. Gathering my breath, I felt the Doctor take my hand and give a reassuring squeeze.

"Kistane Shafecane. Kistane Shafecane. Kistane and Biltone Shafecane? We're looking for a Kistane and Beltone Shafecane."

"The Shafecanes, anyone? Kistane from Red Falls Five? My name's Padra."

"Anyone? Kistane and Beltone Shafecane! Anyone know the Shafecane family? Anyone called Shafecane?"

"It's like a refugee camp."

"It's stinking!" Jack exclaimed before met the eyes of a very put off man. "Oh, sorry. No offence. Not you."

"Don't you see, though? The ripe old smell of humans. You survived! Oh, you might've spent a million years evolving into clouds of gas, and another million as downloads, but you always revert to the same basic shape, the fundamental humans."

"Kristane Shafecane."

"End of the universe, and here you are. Indomitable- that's the word. Indomitable! Ha!"

"Someone's excited," I muttered. He nudged me before placing a quick kiss atop my head.

"Is there a Kristane Shafecane?"

A woman stood. "That's me."

"Mother?"

"Oh my God. Padra." The man we rescued ran to his mother, taking her in a hug.

"Beltone?"

"It's not all bad news."

A young man stood and Jack shook his hand. "Captain Jack Harkness. And who are you?" I chuckled and rolled my eyes but let the man have his fun. If there was one thing that could be said about Jack, it was that he was the universe's biggest flirt and it rarely did any harm to let him have a go… when supervised of course.

"Stop it." The Doctor groaned. Jack let go of the man's hand and walked over to the door we were at. "Give us a hand with this. It's half deadlocked. See if you can overwrite to code. Let's find out where we are." Together, Jack and the Doctor opened the door that turned out to be part way up a giant rocket. Jack quickly grabbed onto the Doctor before he fell in.

"Gotcha."

"Thanks."

"How did you cope without me?"

"I have Rys."

Martha stared at the shuttle in awe. "Now _that_ is what I call a rocket."

"They're passengers, not refugees," I stated.

"He said they were going to Utopia."

"The perfect place. Hundred trillion years, it's the same old dream. You recognize those engines?" I shook my head.

"Nope. Whatever it is, it's not rocket science. But it's hot, though."

"Boiling," the Doctor agreed before the three of them moved out of the doorway and closed the door. "But if the universe is falling apart, what does 'Utopia' mean?" the Doctor mused as two men approached us. The older was short and stout with white hair while the younger had thick black chin length hair, a slender frame and ice coloured eyes that reminded me of my first incarnation. There was something about him, something that seemed eerily familiar, like I should know who he was. I tried to reach out with my mind, but hit nothing but a wall. Shaking my head and ridding myself from the beginning of a headache, I sighed and watched the pair approach us.

"The Doctor?" he asked, his attention on Jack. The look on the Doctor's face caused me to chuckle a bit. He was so full of himself that Jack being mistaken for him seemed to put him off some. My laughter caused the younger man to briefly glance at me.

Jack pointed to the Doctor. "That's me."

"Oh, good! Good! _Good_. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good."

"It's good apparently," he said as he was pulled away, grabbing onto my hand in the process.

After a relatively short walk, we reached a room that resembled a laboratory, at least that's what the equipment indicated. The older man had quickly dragged the Doctor to one of the various machines while the younger one leaned against the far wall, observing. A blue insect like female approached Jack, Martha, and I with a smile as the man chattered on with the Doctor, who was soaking in all the information he could get. It wasn't very often that we were surrounded by friendly faces when landing and to know that the old man _wanted_ help, made everything better. "Chan, welcome, tho." I smiled at her, giving her a slight nod. Walking past the three, I joined the Doctor and the older man. I wanted to get the most I could as well. But in the small room, I heard everything that was being said.

"Now, this is the gravitissimal accelerator. It's past its best but, it works."

"Chan, welcome, tho."

"And over here is the footprint impellor system. Now, do you know anything about end-time gravity mechanics?"

"Hello. Who are you?" Martha asked.

"Chan, Chantho, tho."

"But we can't get it to harmonise!"

"Captain Jack Harkness."

"Stop it."

"Oh, leave him be," I chuckled before walking over to Jack.

"Can't I say hello to anyone?"

"Of course you can, stud."

"Chan, I do not protest, tho."

"Maybe later, Blue." I nudged him but he ruffled my hair and moved over to the Doctor and the older man. "So, what have we got here?"

Martha and I followed. While she looked utterly confused, I was able to understand majority of what was said. "This all feeds into the rocket?"

"Yeah, except without a stable footprint, you see, we'll never achieve escape velocity. If only we could harmonise the five impact patterns and unify them, well, we might yet make it. What do you think, Doctor? Any ideas?"

"Well, er, basically… sort of… not a clue."

"Nothing?"

"I'm not from around these parts. I've never seen a system like it. Sorry."

"No, no. I'm sorry. It's my fault. There's been so little help." I smiled sadly at the old man. It did seem as if help might be hard to find, but he seemed to have Chantho at his side, someone who seemed to offer him a great deal of aid. It was good enough for him and while we had no idea what things were and how to help, we would do our best.

* * *

_25/01/2015_

_Hello all. So, two weeks later and I am finally updating. So sorry for not updating in a while. Been busy and all. Oh, and I'm doing something different because I'm a tad lazy and I also want to keep the suspense going. So, these next three chapters will be broken down into six. But yeah, I don't have much to really say except for thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favourites. I really appreciate it. And now, onto the reviews. _

_**NicoleR85:** So glad you enjoyed it. Ah, the Master and Cerys will be... interesting. Donna is almost here. It is definitely going to be something. And I can't wait for River to join the group. I'm counting down to her._

_**Takara Matsudaira:** Yay, glad you liked it. As long as it's cool with you. Haha, I'm fine with waiting. To answer your question, yep. It is her academy name. But only the Doctor's allowed to call her by the full name. She normally just goes by Cerys and Rys. I can't tell you her Gallifreyan name. It's a secret ;). It must never be known. Sorry this is short. Rushing so that my friend and I can go see some friends. _

_Jasmine- The True Believer: So glad you like it. Here goes another one. Sorry it is a tad late. _


	53. Utopia

As I stood aside, letting the guys go about figuring things out, I watched as Martha went through Jack's backpack and pulled out a container with a hand in it. My eyebrow raised as the solution bubbled and the longer I examined it, the more I realised that the hand was quite familiar. It wasn't any hand though, it was the Doctor's from when he had regenerated two Christmas pasts. "Oh my God." The men stopped what they were doing and turned to Martha as she placed the jar on a table. Sighing, I went over to her and Jack threw me a guilty glance. From the corner of my eye, I saw the kid leaning against the far wall perk up in interest. "You've got a hand? A hand in a jar. A hand in jar in your bag."

"But t- that- that's my hand!"

"I said I had a Doctor detector," Jack shrugged, nervously might I add, as I chuckled.

Chantho seemed completely confused as the why Jack was carrying a hand around. "Chan, is this a tradition amongst your people, tho?"

"Not on my street! What do you mean, that's your hand? You've got both your hands. I can see them."

"He lost it in a swordfight on Christmas. It was a very long and eventful day."

The Doctor nodded and placed an arm around my waist. He knew I was thinking of what had happened before the fight, just as he knew I still felt guilty for causing his regeneration, even if he said he chose to save me. Although I knew it was true, there was still a part of me that felt horrible about it. It was pretty obvious in retrospect that it was bound to happen, whether it was Rose or me but he barely had much time in that body. There was so much those eyes hadn't seen and to know it was cut short got to me. "It was."

"What, and you grew another hand?"

"Um, yeah. Yeah, I did, yeah." Her face fell as he waved at her. "Hello."

"Might I ask, what species are you?"

"Time Lord- last of, me and Rys. Heard of them?" The man stared at him not recognising what the Doctor said. Well that was nice, our people were forgotten a hundred trillion years in the future. Maybe it was a good thing, especially after how they turned out. "Legend or anything?" The older gentleman shrugged. "Not even a myth? Blimey, end of the universe is a bit humbling."

"Which is good since your head is big enough." The Doctor shot me a pointed look which I returned before giving him a quick peck on the cheek. As I pulled away, he wrapped his arm around me, pulling me to him and resting his chin atop my head.

"Chan, it is said that I am the last of my species, too, tho."

The Doctor turned and gave Chantho his attention. "Sorry. What was your name?"

"She said it earlier but you were just so engrossed in looking around," I chastised, rolling my eyes at him, not that he saw. The man had such a one tracked mind sometimes; it was unbearable for the most part. Then again, I was sure he caught her name since he never really missed anything.

"My assistant and good friend, Chantho. A survivor of the Malmooth. This was their planet, Malcassairo, before we took refuge."

"The city outside, that was yours?"

"Chan, the conglomeration died, tho."

"Conglomeration- that's what I said!"

_'That is not how you respond.'_

He pouted. _'But I was right.'_

_'Doesn't matter.'_

"You're supposed to say sorry," Jack unknowingly reinforced, causing the Doctor to groan in irritation.

"Oh, yes. Sorry."

"Chan, most grateful, tho."

"You grew… another hand?" Martha asked, still on the previous topic and still in disbelief. I couldn't really blame her; she never really encountered an anyone that could regrow limbs. Then again, she also didn't know that he was in the first fifteen hours of regeneration, which was particularly lucky of him. Honestly, if it were anyone else, things would have probably went worse.

"Hello again." He waved at her again. "It's fine. Look, really, it's me." He held his hand out for her to shake, which she cautiously did.

"All this time, and you're still full of surprises." He clicked his tongue, smiling.

"Chan, you are most unusual, tho."

"Well…"

"So what about those things outside?" Jack asked, getting back to business. Considering he'd travelled with us for a while, I knew none of this should or would faze him, but there was something about his demeanour that told me his travels with us wasn't what caused him to be so calm and collected. "The Beastie Boys- what are they?"

"We call them the Futurekind, which is a myth in itself, but, uh, it's feared they are what we will become- unless we reach Utopia."

"And what exactly is Utopia?" I questioned, my interest peaked. It was interesting, their thoughts, and so human, even if it didn't make much sense. If the universe was dying, there would be nothing out there. Utopia seemed to just be something that kept them going and I'll be damned if I took that away from them.

"Oh, every human knows of Utopia. Where have you been?"

"Bit of hermits."

"Hermits with, uh, friends?"

"Hermits United. We meet up every ten years and swap stories about caves. It's good fun…for a hermit. So, um, Utopia?"

The gentleman looked at him quizzically before beckoning him with a finger and pulling up a display on the gravitational field navigation system. I moved away from the Doctor a bit to get a better look, seeing a flashing red dot amongst a sea of blue. Not much to my surprise, he followed, throwing an arm over my shoulder. "The call came from across the stars, over and over again- 'Come to Utopia', originating from that point."

"Where is that?"

"Oh, it's far beyond the Condensate Wilderness- out towards the Wildlands and the Dark Matter reefs, calling us in. The last of the humans scattered across the night."

"What do you think's out there?"

"We can't know. A colony, a city, some sort of haven? The Science Foundation created the Utopia Project thousands of years ago to preserve mankind, to find a way of surviving beyond the collapse of reality itself. Now perhaps they found it. Perhaps not. But it's worth a look, don't you think?"

"Oh, yes," the Doctor said, not noticing the man's fact contort in pain before brandishing a faraway look. I watched him for a while, trying to figure out what could have caused it but all it did was give me a pounding headache. "And the signal keeps modulating, so it's not on automatic. That's a good sign. Someone's out there. And that's- oh. That's a navigation matrix. So you can fly without stars to guide you. Professor?" The Doctor finally noticed the man's expression. "Professor? Professor!"

The man snapped out of whatever had taken hold of him. "I, er, ahem, right. That's enough talk. There's work to do. Now, if you could leave. Thank you." The man pushed past the Doctor, moving to the other side of the laboratory.

"You all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine. And busy!"

"But that rocket, it isn't going to fly, is it?" I gently asked. "The footprint mechanism… it's not working."

"We'll find a way!"

"You're stuck on this planet. And you haven't told them, have you? That lot out there, they still think they're going to fly."

He took a seat, dejected at the thought and the failure. "Well, it's better to let them live in hope."

"Quite right, too. And I must say, Professor… er, what was it?" Pulling off his coat, Jack took it and folded it over his arm. I glanced at him, chuckling a bit. He had seemed to become a coatrack. Jack gave me an irritated grin before handing it to Martha, who just rolled her eyes. With his hands free, Jack joined us, looking over the screens and data.

"Yana."

The Doctor pulled away from me. I pouted a bit and was given a quick peck on the cheek. "Professor Yana, this new science is well beyond me. But all the same, a boost reversal circuit, in any timeframe, must be a circuit which reverses the boost. So, I wonder, what would happen if I did..." He soniced the end of a cable and pulled. "This?" Suddenly power surged through the machines and an alarm began to blare. Yana and Chantho looked around in wonder and happiness.

"Chan, it's working, tho!"

"But how did you do that?"

"Oh, we've been chatting away. I forgot to tell you- I'm brilliant." I rolled my eyes as his ego shone through. The man was nowhere near humble, that was for sure. Over by the wall, I heard a strangled laugh and turned to the younger man who had remained silent since we had first met. As our eyes met, he quickly looked away, his chin length hair covering his eyes. It was enough for me to feel something from him, and it was good. Whatever was to happen that involved him, it would be wonderful. Knowing that, I eased up on observing him, and waited for the moment to come.

As the passages prepared to board, the Doctor ran around the laboratory, tossing odds and ends to Jack as they moved to get the system where it should be. Yana stood at the controls while Martha and Chantho worked at another end of the lab. I helped them connect some wires to the system before rushing to the computer, watching Yana as he inputted some information. A moment later, Martha and Chantho left the room. I watched as the men moved around the equipment in Professor Yana's laboratory. I rolled my eyes as I saw the Doctor sniff at one of the wires, luckily he didn't lick it. He motioned me over, asking me to smell it. Reluctantly… very reluctantly, I did so, looking up at him surprised. "Is this…"

"Yes, gluten extract. Binds the neutralino map together," Yana answered.

"But that's food. You've built this system out of food and string and staples. Professor Yana, you're a genius."

"Yeah, says the man who made it work."

"Oh, it's easy coming in at the end, but… you're stellar. This is- this is magnificent. And I don't often say that 'cause, well- 'cause of us."

"Well, even my title is an affectation. There hasn't been such a thing as a university for over a thousand years. I've spent my life going from one refugee ship to another."

"If you'd been born in a different time, you'd be revered." Yana chuckled. "I mean it. Throughout the galaxies."

"Oh, those damn galaxies." I smiled at the old man but stopped when I noticed the other man roll his eyes. Maybe there was something we were missing about Yana, something that the younger man knew. "They had to go and collapse. Some admiration would have been nice, yes. Just a little. Just once."

"Well, you've got it now. But that footprint engine thing… you can't activate it from on-board. It's got to be from here. You're staying behind."

"With Chantho. She won't leave without me. Simply refuses."

"And what about him?" I asked, pointing to the younger man.

"Kiel." It was nice to finally learn his name. "Yes, he has another way out. Built another rocket for himself."

"That's impressive. Mind if we take a look?"

"Yeah, I do."

"The Doctor shrugged turned from Kiel and back to Yana while I watched the young man. I kept feeling as though I knew him, and the more I tried to figure it out, the more it annoyed me. The name did sound somewhat familiar but I couldn't really place where I'd heard it. "You'd give your life so they could fly."

"Oh, I think I'm a little too old for Utopia. Time I had some sleep."

**"Professor, tell the Doctor we've found his blue box."**

"Ah!"

"Doctor," Jack called as the Tardis appeared on the monitor.

"Professor, it's a wild stab in the dark, but I might _just_ have found you a way out." I looked over to see Yana clutching his head. Turning from him, I glanced at Kiel to see his eyes had widened in recognition. Suddenly I felt a throbbing sensation in my head. Knowing it wasn't from me or the Doctor, I looked around the room, my eyes landing on Yana. I watched him, giving a small smile when the Tardis materialized in the room. I didn't even notice when the Doctor had left and that told me something was extremely wrong. I always knew when he ran off. A moment later, the Doctor walked out dragging a power cable with him. "Extra power! Little bit of a cheat, but who's counting? Jack, you're in charge of the retro feeds. Rys, see that everything's level." I nodded and moved to the monitors just as Martha and Chantho returned to the room.

"Oh, am I glad to see that thing."

"Oh, am I glad to see that thing."

From the corner of my eye I saw Chantho rush to Yana's side. "Chan, Professor, are you alright, tho?"

"Yes, fine. I'm fine. I'm fine!" he snapped as she remained at his side. "Just get on with it."

"Connect those circuits into the spar, same as that last lot but quicker!"

"Ooo, yes sir," Martha replied as she went off to do what Jack had said.

I joined her, knowing it would go a lot easier with two. Glancing up, I saw Yana still sitting, trying to recover himself. I quickly walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You really don't have to do anything. We've got it, you know."

"It's just a headache, my dear. It's just… just a noise in my head. Constant noise inside my head."

I looked from him to my husband, the two of us sharing our worry for the old man. "What sort of noise?" he asked.

"It's the sound of drums." I stared at him, thinking of the throbbing I had felt. The pounding of drums against my mind. "More and more, as though it's getting closer."

"When did it start up?"

"Oh, I've had it all my life, every waking hour. Still, no rest for the wicked." I gave him a small smile before returning to Martha and Chantho as they placed circuit boards onto a rack. The two women were having a conversation of their own.

"How long have you been with the professor?"

"Chan, seventeen years, tho."

"Blimey. A long time."

"Chan, I adore him, tho."

"Oh right, and he…"

"Chan, I don't think he even notices, tho."

"He's a guy. They don't notice anything until it's spelled out to them, isn't that right, Rys?"

"For the most part. The Doctor wasn't that oblivious though."

"What do you mean? He's the most oblivious man I've ever met. He didn't even notice me, like properly notice me, before."

"He notices everything when it comes to me and our relationship. It's part of being Ame Soeurs." I shrugged. It was odd explaining it to someone but it was also nice. While I knew Martha was nowhere interested in the Doctor, at least, not anymore, it was like another addition that kept her away. I don't know, it's a weird thing. "It's natural to just focus on that one person… no matter the circumstances."

"Chan, what is an ame soeur, tho?"

"For our people, it's your soul mate. It's literally the other part of your soul."

"Chan, that sounds lovely, tho."

"It is," I replied with a smile. "But what about you, Chantho?" As nice as it was to have some attention on me, I really wasn't too fond of it.

"Chan, I am happy to serve, tho."

"Do you mind if I ask," Martha started. "Do you have to start every sentence with 'chan'?"

"Chan, yes, tho."

"And end every sentence with…"

"Chan 'tho' tho."

"What would happen if you didn't?"

"Chan, that would be rude, tho."

"What, like swearing?"

""Chan, indeed, tho."

"Go on, just once."

"Chan, I can't, tho!"

"Oh, do it for us."

"No," Chantho said as the three of us began to giggle, only for me to stop when Atillo came onto the monitor. Tossing the women a wink, I moved over to the screen, placing myself between Jack and the Doctor. After realising that the headache it was getting had to do with Yana, I began to grow more wary of him. Sure he seemed harmless, but there were a lot of creatures out there that did as well and were ten times as deadly.

"Systems are down. Professor, are you getting me?"

"I'm here! We're ready!" Yana yelled into the mic. "Now, all you need to do is connect the couplings. Then we can launch." Atillo disappeared from the screen and the monitor went blank. "God save us! This equipment! Needs rebooting all the time."

"Anything I can do? I've finished that lot," Martha said.

"Yes, if you could. Just press the reboot key every time the picture goes."

"Certainly, sir. Just don't ask me to do shorthand." I chuckled as Yana looked on and did so as well. He stood, giving Martha his seat.

"Right."

Atillo returned to the screen. "Are you still there?"

"Ah, present and correct. Send your man inside. We'll keep the levels down from here."

"He's inside. And good luck to him."

"Captain, keep the dials below red."

"Where is that room?"

"It's underneath the rocket. Fix the couplings, and the footprint can work! But the entire chamber is flooded with stet radiation."

"Stet? Never heard of it."

"Well, you wouldn't want to. But it's safe enough. We can hold the radiation back from here." We watched as the monitor showed a man pressing buttons on the equipment before him. Suddenly an alarm went off. "It's rising. Naught point two. Keep it level!"

"Yes, sir." The second connection was made. Suddenly the alarms went off and the lights began to flicker.

"Chan, we're losing power, tho."

"Radiation's rising! We've lost control!"

"The chamber's going to flood."

I joined the men. Suddenly, I realised there was only really one thing we could do to rectify the situation. "We have to override the vents, Jack."

He nodded and pulled out two power cables, motioning for me to stand back. "That's not what I meant."

He rolled his eyes at me. "We can jump start the override." Without waiting for a response, he held the two live ends together, electrocuting himself in the process. I looked away as it happened, his screams echoing in my ears. I knew they would forever haunt me, even though he and I both knew he'd be fine and that it was his choice. Then again, I was extremely irritated with his method. He could have done something that wouldn't kill him.

"Don't! It's gonna flare!" the Doctor yelled a little too late.

Martha rushed over as he collapsed to the floor. "I've got him."

"Chan, don't touch the cables, tho," Chantho said as she quickly and carefully lifted the wire and tossed it aside. Martha checked for a pulse and upon finding none, she glanced up at me sympathetically.

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"The chamber's flooded with radiation, yes?" Martha began to give Jack mouth to mouth.

"Without the couplings, the engines will never start. It was all for nothing!"

"Oh, I don't know. Martha, leave him," the Doctor said, gently pulling her from Jack's prone form.

"You've gotta let me try."

"Come on, come on, just listen to me. Now, leave him alone."

Martha looked at him bewildered. I pulled her attention away from him, knowing she had a few choice words she wanted to say to the him. "Trust him, Martha. Jack'll be fine." Realising that I wasn't distraught about what happened, she sighed and nodded.

"It strikes me, Professor, you've got a room which no man can enter without dying. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Well…" Jack gasped as he came back to life. As he did so, the Doctor pulled off his spectacles. "I think I've got just the man."

"Was someone kissing me?" I chuckled and helped him to his feet.

When I was sure he was all right, I slapped the back of his head. When he asked what it was for, I told him to never put himself in that situation again. While he didn't make any promises, he did apologise for worrying me so much. After our moment, the Doctor filled Jack and me in on his plan. As they were about to leave the room, the Doctor pulled me aside. "You all right?"

"Of course I am."

He raised an eyebrow and inspected me. "No, you aren't."

I sighed, knowing I couldn't lie to him. It was times like such I really hated the bond. Even incomplete the other could feel when something was wrong. "Just a bit of a headache. What do you think of this?"

"Of what?"

"What's happened."

"What are you feeling?"

"I don't know. Besides the headache, the only feeling I've had was from Jack and that was when we saw him outside. There is Yana… but… there is something that's bothering me about Kiel."

"What is it?"

"I don't know. It's like I should know who he is… like I know him…" I saw his features contort into confusion. "It doesn't matter right now. You and Jack have to go straighten out that chamber."

"Rys…"

"It's fine. I'm fine. Promise." He stared at me for a moment before he gently kissed my lips and strode over to Jack. I watched the two men nod to each other and leave the laboratory.

Once they were gone, Professor Yana walked around the room, Chantho stood by Martha who was still rebooting the monitor, Kiel remained in the same spot, leaning against the farthest wall, and I nervously paced the room, as a sense of dread overcame me. I couldn't help but feel something extremely wrong was going to happen. Maybe I should have went with the Doctor and Jack, but then again, they both could handle themselves. I was more worried about Martha.

_'Everything'll be fine, Rys.'_

_'You can't promise me that.'_

_'No, I can't. But I'll do everything in my power to ensure it will be.'_

_'Of course you will, Theta.'_

The comm. suddenly came to life, indicating the Doctor and Jack had reached their desired destination. "What are you taking your clothes off for?"

"I'm going in." I couldn't help but chuckle, knowing only Jack would do something like that. It was just who he was, a massive cheek.

"Well, by the looks of it, I'd say the stet radiation doesn't affect clothing, only flesh."

"Well, I look good, though." I smiled a bit at the man's antics. There was a short silence between the two before Jack broke it. "How long have you known?"

"Ever since I ran away from you." I frowned, quite upset by the new information. If I'd known, I would have demanded we go back and get him. But I was human then, a silly, idiotic human who ended up killing his ninth incarnation. I doubt the Doctor would have really listened to me anyways. But Jack had been… no, was a friend and I had abandoned him, human or Time Lady, it didn't matter. I had abandoned him and that must have hurt him more that the Doctor leaving him.

During our time travelling together, Jack and I had gotten close, having late night chats when the Doctor and I were at odds and Rose was asleep or off doing something else. We'd learned more about each other in that short amount of time than I'd learned or shared with anyone else. He was so easy to talk to when it was just the two of us. Since the Doctor wasn't around, the flirting was at a bare minimum or non-existent. It was just Cerys Tyler and Jack Harkness, two friends sharing stories about their lives. Now that I knew he was alive, I was intent on dropping in for a visit whenever I had the chance. I was going to hold onto him with everything I had. He wouldn't be getting rid of me anytime soon.

"And Cerys?"

"The moment she saw you in Cardiff. Good luck."

I heard the door open and close, knowing that Jack had entered the room. I turned when I heard Martha speak. "We lost picture when that thing flared up. Doctor, are you there?"

"Receiving, yeah. He's inside."

"And still alive?"

"Oh, yes."

"But he should evaporate!" Yana said in disbelief. " What sort of a man is he?"

"I've only just met him. The Doctor sort of travels through time and space and picks people up. God, I make us sound like stray dogs. Maybe we are."

"Certainly not. I promise. He chooses his companions very carefully. No stray dogs, just friends, or a con man who becomes a friend," I replied with a small smile that I received in turn.

"He travels in _time_ and space?"

"Don't ask me to explain it. That's a Tardis, that box thing," Martha explained to Yana, nodding to the time machine. "The sport's car of time travel, he says."

"She is," I muttered before returning my attention to the comm.

"When did you first realise?"

"Earth, 1892. Got in a fight in Ellis Island. A man shot me through the heart. Then I woke up. Thought it was kind of strange, but then it never stopped. Fell off a cliff, trampled by horses, World War One, World War Two, poison, starvation, a stray javelin." I cringed at the new information, feeling worse as he spoke. I barely noticed I had started to cry until I felt a tear hit my hand. "In the end, I got the message. I'm the man who can never die. And all that time, you knew."

"That's why I left you behind. It's not easy even just… just looking at you, Jack, 'cause you're wrong."

"Thanks. Does Cerys feel the same?"

_'I don't, Theta. He's still a friend and it's partially my fault he's like that. If I'd taken in the vortex sooner…'_

"No, she doesn't. She feels guilty about what happened. She didn't know. In her eyes, it doesn't matter if it goes against what instinct is telling her. Rys… she doesn't feel the same as I do."

"Glad to know. I'd be more disappointed in her if she did."

"You are. I can't help it. I'm a Time Lord. It's instinct. It's in my guts. You're a fixed point in time and space. You're a fact. That's never meant to happen. Even the Tardis reacted against you, tried to shake you off, flew all the way to the end of the universe just to get rid of you."

"So what you're saying is that you're, uh… prejudiced?"

"I never thought of it like that."

"Shame on you."

"Yeah."

The pair was quiet for a while. I was slightly disappointed about how the Doctor felt about Jack but what he said was true. Even at the moment, I could feel that part of me wanting to be disgusted by Jack, to leave him behind but I couldn't do that. It wasn't who I was or ever would be. He was family, whether the Doctor accepted it or not was his problem, not mine. "Last thing I remember, back when I was mortal, I was facing three Daleks, death by extermination- and then I came back to life. What happened?"

"Rose."

"I thought you'd sent her back home?"

"She came back. Opened the heart of the Tardis and absorbed the time vortex itself."

"What's that mean exactly?"

"No one's ever meant to have that power. If a Time Lord did that, he'd become a god- a vengeful god. But she was human. Everything she did was so human. She brought you back to life but she couldn't control it. She brought you back forever. That's something, I suppose. The final act of the Time War was life."

"Do you think she could change me back?"

"Rys took the power out of her."

"But you just said a Time Lord would become a vengeful god…"

"She was still human then. It was so close to burning up Rose when Rys accidently took it into herself. I think it registered that she was a Time Lady and had started to open up her mind too quickly. If I hadn't taken it, she wouldn't be here."

"But Rose?"

"She's gone, Jack. She's not just living on a parallel world, she's trapped there. The walls have closed."

"I'm sorry."

"It's Rys that I was worried about. After she was trapped, it became too much for her. Something triggered a failsafe in her fob watch that returned her back to a Time Lady." I ignored the glance Martha gave me.

"I know what happened," Jack stated before sighing. "I went back to her estate, in the nineties… just once or twice. Watched her growing up. Never said hello. Time lines and all that."

"Do you want to die?"

"Oh, this one's a little stuck," Jack said as he avoided the question. I let out a sigh, knowing the answer was clear.

"Jack?"

"I thought I did. I don't know. But this lot, you see them out here, surviving, and that's fantastic."

"You might be out there, somewhere."

"I could go meet myself."

"Well… the only man you're ever going to be happy with."

"This new regeneration, it's kind of cheeky." I chuckled a bit.

"I never understand half the things he says," Martha said, going to continue but was interrupted.

"Shut the comm. off," Kiel snapped. I turned to see his eyes on Yana. Following his gaze, I saw the old man was crying, clutching his head. It seemed something that was said triggered something… another headache most likely.

"Why?"

"Just shut it off."

"Chan, Kiel, tho?"

"I don't have time for this," he growled before moving from his spot on the wall and turning the comm. off himself. As he turned from them, he briefly glared at me before standing by Chantho. It was almost a look as though I should know better, that I should have never let Yana hear what was being said.

Martha's eyes widened at his sudden movements before she turned her attention to Yana. "What's wrong?"

"Chan, Professor, what is it, tho?"

"Stay away from him Chantho." The woman glanced at Kiel before taking a few more steps toward Yana. Knowing that whatever was going on was serious, I grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her back a few. I could understand the desire to help a loved one, but Yana could be dangerous and I didn't want her getting hurt.

"Time travel. They say there was time travel back in the old days. I never believed. But what would I know? Stupid old man." The man sniffed. "Never could keep time. Always late, always lost." Yana pulled out a watch, a _fob _watch to be exact. I stared at the man, startled before working my gaze to Kiel, finding his expression almost impassive, although I could see the underlying storm in his icy eyes. It was so much like the Doctor's eyes when things were about to get extremely bad. "Even this thing never worked. Time and time and time again. Always running out on me."

"Can I have a look at that?" Martha asked, holding out her hand.

"Oh, it's- it's only an old relic," Yana placed it in her hand, chuckling. "Like me."

"Where did you get it?"

"Hmm? I was found with it."

"What do you mean?"

"An orphan in the storm. I was a naked child found on the coast of the Silver Devastation. Abandoned, with only this."

"Have you opened it?"

"Why would I? It's broken." As he said that, I felt the throbbing start back up. I flinched, knowing something bad was about to happen and Yana was at the centre of it.

"How do you know it's broken if you've never opened it?"

"It's stuck. It's old. It's not meant to be. I don't know." We all watched as Martha inspected it, bringing it over to me so that I could as well. As I examined it, my eyes widened in shock before I looked back at Yana. He was a Time Lord. The Doctor and I weren't the last! Yet, as great as that was, I couldn't help but wonder which one he was, whether he was good or bad was the next question. "Does it matter?"

"Not at all," I said. "Everything's peachy. Martha, go see if the Doctor needs you."

"You're staying here?"

"Yeah. There're still some things that need to be done around here to help the Doctor and Jack." I waved her off, hoping to get her out of the room as quickly as possible.

"All right then," she hesitantly responded before leaving the room, but not before handing Yana the watch, a move I found very stupid but then again, taking it with her might have been incredibly suspicious.

As Chantho, Kiel, Yana, and I stood in the laboratory, an alarm sounded. I watched as Chantho looked around, startled. Turning to Kiel, I saw his jaw clenched and Yana stared at his watch. I shut my eyes, trying to endure the immense throbbing I felt at the forefront of my mind. Opening them, I saw Yana stumble a bit. Chantho rushed to his side. "Chan, Yana, won't you please take some rest, tho?" Yana continue to gaze at his watch, paying no attention to Chantho's concerned questions. A nauseating feeling overcame me and I quickly ran to Chantho and pulled her away from Yana. Just as I moved her, he opened the watch and a stream of golden energy entered him. My eyes widened as I watched, barely aware of Kiel cursing under his breath. "Chan, Professor Yana, tho?" Chantho hesitantly asked. He turned and glared at me, glaring icily at me. Without acknowledging her, he moved a lever and the control room door slammed shut, locking the Doctor, Jack, and Martha in there. "Chan, but you've locked them in, tho."

"Not to worry, my dear. As one door closes, another must open." Yana then went and turned off the silo's defences.

"Open the door, Yana." The man ignored me. "My husband and friends are out there and if you don't open the door, I will not hesitate to hurt you," I growled lowly. He glanced at me and smirked, the action sending a shiver down my spine. It was so… familiar, like a part of a distant nightmare.

"Chan, you must stop, tho." He ignored her pleads and began to work the controls where she stood. "Chan, but you've lowered the defences. The Futurekind will get in, tho."

"You four just had to show up," Kiel sneered. "He was going to go off, leave for Utopia, die, whatever. Why the hell did you have to ruin the plan? It was a great plan." I looked from the older man to the floor, concealing a smile as the Doctor told me they had opened the control room door.

"Chan, Professor, I'm so sorry… but I must stop you-" He scoffed at her and continued working. "You're destroying all our work, tho," she said as she pointed a gun at Yana.

"Chantho, don't…"

"Listen to her. It won't work," I said.

Yana turned and smiled a sick smile. "Oh. Now I can say I was provoked." He picked up a live energy cable, stalking closer to her. "Did you never think, all those years standing beside me, to ask about that watch? Never? Did you never once think, not ever, that you could set me free?"

"Chan, I'm sorry, tho. Chan, I'm so sorry."

"And you… with your 'chan' and your 'tho', driving me insane!

"Chan, Professor, please-"

"That is not my name!" she gasped in fear. I moved forward to help her but Kiel grabbed my arm, keeping me away from the mad man. "The Professor- was an invention. So perfect a disguise that I forgot who I am."

"Chan, then who are you, tho?"

"I am… the Master." I felt my eyes widen in fear as he said so, right before he thrust the live cable at Chantho.

"What the hell have you done?! You've killed her!"

"Oh quit your yelling, it's giving me an earache. Then again, you always have. I should have killed you when I had the chance," the Master said as he walked towards me, the wire still in his hand. I backed away slightly, knowing that he had all intentions of killing me. Back on Gallifrey, he had been my main tormentor, often putting me in situations that would get me killed or hurt. He always wanted to be the one to bring about my death and it seemed as if he had finally gotten the opportunity, not that I was really going to let him. "The both of you should be dead but your precious Doctor had to get in the way, and _you_ had to run. But I did get something out of the deal, wouldn't you say Kiel?" I glanced between the two, at first confused by his meaning but then seeming to realise what he meant. My eyes immediately went to Kiel.

"Piss off."

"Hmm, I'll think about it. But first." Yana turned from Kiel and held the wire to my skin. As I felt the crackle of electricity run through my body, I let out a strangled cry and fell to the ground. The Master held it there, letting it course through me. I didn't realize it had stopped until I heard the sound of two bodies hitting the floor. Looking up, I saw Kiel and the Master struggling. I clenched my eyes shut the moment I saw him pick up a metal rod, only hear the sickening thud of it hitting Kiel.

"Why are you doing this?" I managed to get out.

I heard him come over and grab hold of my hair. Suddenly he pulled away and I opened my eyes to see him caressing the jar that held the Doctor's hand. Just then, there was a banging on the laboratory door. "Professor! Professor, let me in! Let me in! Jack, get the door open now! Professor! Professor, where are you?! Rys! Are you there? Please! I need to explain. Whatever you do, don't open that watch!" Ignoring the Doctor's cries, Yana removed a circuit board from the gravitational field navigation system.

_'Too late for that.'_

_'Rys! What happened? Are you all right?'_

_'I'm fine.'_

_'You're lying.'_

_'Please, just hurry up.'_

"Utopia."

"They're coming!" I heard Martha yell, fear evident in her voice.

"Professor! Rys!" Yana continued to move around the laboratory, disconnecting the power cable from the Tardis. "Open the door, please! I'm begging you, Professor. Please let me get Rys. We'll leave, I promise. Please, listen to me." I felt tears welling in my eyes as he pled. Holding them back, I saw Chantho reach for her gun. I smiled, glad she was alive. "Just open the door, please." Chantho then fired the gun and her arm collapsed. She was dead. I heard Yana grunt before I felt him pick me up. Even in my weakened state, I struggled against the wounded old man. But it was to no avail. Soon I found myself dropped onto the Tardis floor, the machine angrily humming. I watched him leave and return a moment later, the jar in tow. Just as the Doctor reached the door, Yana slammed it close and then ran to the console and pressed a switch.

"Deadlocked."

"Let me in. Let me in!"

"Why are you doing this?" I asked my voice stronger.

"I want him to suffer," Yana replied spitefully.

"She's dead and he's unconscious," I heard Martha say along with the familiar sound of the sonic screwdriver.

"I broke the lock. Give me a hand!"

"I'm begging you. Everything's changed! It's only the three of us! We're the only ones left! Just let me in!"

"Killed by an insect! A girl," he exclaimed in disgust. "How inappropriate. Still, if the Doctor can be young and strong… then so can I. The Master… reborn." With that, he began his regeneration, changing from an old man to one around the age of thirty with a round face a shortish build and really blond hair. "Ha, ha! Ha, ha, ha! Ha, ha, ha!" He ran around the console as he laughed, stopping to turn on the intercom. "Oh. Now then, Doctor…" The Master paused a moment. "Ooo, new voice. Hello," he said in a deeper tone before going to a higher one, "Hello! Hello. Anyway! Why don't we stop and have a nice little chat while I tell you all my plans, and you can work out a way to stop me- I don't think."

"Hold on. I know that voice."

"I'm asking you, really properly, just stop. Give her back to me. Just think!"

"Use my name."

"Master. I'm sorry."

"Tough!" The mad man began to work his way around the Tardis, putting her in flight.

"I can't hold out much longer, Doctor!"

_'Theta!'_

_'I'm so sorry, Rys.'_

_'It's not your fault.'_

_'I'm coming to get you.'_

_'I know. Look after Kiel… when you escape, bring him with you.'_

_'Why?'_

_'Please Theta…'_

_'All right. I love you, Ceryssida.'_

_'I love you too.'_

I then heard the sonic screwdriver as the time rotor started up. It took me a moment to realise he was trying to stop the Tardis from taking off. "Oh, no you don't! End of the universe. Have fun. Bye-bye!" I cringed as the familiar sound of the Tardis dematerializing rang in my ears. Feeling more exhausted than I had in a very long time, I collapsed, all strength leaving me.

_"Ooo, this should be fun."_

_"Stay away from me, you creep."_

_"Is that how you speak to your future husband?"_

_"That is none of your concern. What the hell do you want?"_

_"You're an abomination. I'm here to eradicate the disease."_

_"You're here to kill me. Honestly, you should have just said that. Many have tried and failed. What makes you any different?"_

_"But I'm not them."_

_"No, you aren't. You're a nutter."_

_"Do not call me that!"_

_"You looked into the Untempered Schism and went mad. You're the worst of the lot." Hands made their way around my throat, forcing the air from my lungs and keeping me from taking in more. Soon, I saw black dots and just as I was about to pass out, I found myself thrown onto the floor. "You won't kill me."_

_"Not yet. This game is quite enjoyable. But I will kill you."_

* * *

_Alrighty, so, I'm finally updating again, YAY. I know it's been a while but still job searching and now with school starting back up, it's a bit hard to solely focus on working on this fic... well at least remembering to post a chapter. I have been working on the Donna episodes and am currently writing/editing the Sontaran Stratagem. That's going to be a fun chapter to write. As for the format, I really didn't like splitting up the chapters like this considering it was a multi-part episode. So, I'll be going back to how I usually do things. With that said, I want to thank everyone who read, favourited, followed, and reviewed HER SECRETS. It makes me so happy that people are still reading the story, and it's wonderful to see those who have been sticking around, even with my lack of updating structure. Now the, onto the reviews._

_**NicoleR85:** Haha, well River episodes are almost up, even if it is her death. But then again, there's so much of her yet to come. I have already written some things (and momentarily lost them) pertaining to a few scenes involving River and Amy and it will be hilarious (at least I think so). _

_**Booklover0608:**Can't answer that but you know, it was a good guess. You definitely have to stick around for the answer. Thanks though, I really appreciate it._

_**Takura Matsudaira:** Her secret is a multitude of things. I probably should have added an 's' at the end. But I will say that her name is a secret and there's only one person who knows it... the Doctor. As for the saying, you missed out the rest, 'but satisfaction brought it back.' :) _

_I too am curious as to what she'll be to the Doctor now. Just kidding, I already have it all planned out. And hopefully the reaction you got was pretty good and slightly realistic to the backstory I portrayed. Haha, I love questions, even when I can't really answer them. Although, I'm sure a few were answered. This is honestly just the beginning of the answers coming out... well at least some. As for Rys meeting Donna, that's a fun chapter. _

_**margie-me:**Yeah, I fell the way. There will definitely be a lot of angst coming up. Some of the past will be drudged up as well, but that's a given with what's to come. _

_**Lost Lady of Time:** I'm not human but I will update lolz :)_


	54. The Sound of Drums

Kiel

When I came to, I found the three had returned to the laboratory. Sitting up, I clutched my head, feeling the pounding and hearing the bells in my ears. Looking around, I saw Martha crouching down by Chantho. I quickly scrambled over to the women. Although I hated the predicament I was in, Chantho had been a friend to me since we'd arrived. Angrily, I brushed past Martha and placed a hand on Chantho's cheek, placing a chaste kiss on her forehead. Although I had been there against my will, she was but an innocent bystander in the entire thing; she had nothing to do with it. The Master had fooled them all, and in the end, she had paid for it. Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I brushed it off and stood. I didn't need any sympathy, or want it for that matter. These people were nothing but strangers to me, they meant nothing.

"I'm sorry about her," the woman, Martha, said. I knew she was sincere but I couldn't help the fact that I was pissed. Usually, I was the worst to be around when my temper flared but, I took time to control it while around Chantho. She always ended up a bit scared when I did blow up.

"She was a friend," I coolly replied, turning away from her, before moving over to the men. Jack seemed to be having a hard time keeping the door closed but I was unsure if they'd actually want my help. Both men seemed to be proud, although one, the Doctor, spewed arrogance. It made him wonder how he could have gotten to be that way... if he was always that way. "What do you need me to do?" The Doctor said nothing as he did whatever he had taken to doing. I wasn't looking forward to hearing him answer though; I was banking more on Jack, and he delivered.

"Help me hold the door. We need to keep the Future-kind out." Nodding, I went over and pushed against the door with all I could. It was a moot effort considering there were however many Future-kind trying to push their way in and only two of us attempting to keep them out.

As we did our best to keep the Future-kind out of the room, the Doctor finally stopped what he was doing and ran over, grabbing Jack's arm and using his sonic device on it. "Hold still!" He ordered as the door was pushed against and Jack was forced back some. "Don't move! Hold it still!"

I rolled my eyes at him, but then realised he was probably frantic over Rys. She was just kidnapped by a murderous maniac; who knew what he would do to her. Jack on the other hand seemed to be incredibly annoyed with the Doctor and whatever he decided to do with the vortex manipulator on his wrist. "I'm telling you, it's broken. It hasn't worked for years!"

"That's because you didn't have me. Martha, Kiel, grab hold. Now!" Releasing the door, I placed my hand atop the bracelet and felt a rush of air. Suddenly we appeared in an alleyway. To be honest, I was slightly surprised that he'd included me. Then again, Rys might have said something to him. Even if he'd left me behind, I'd built my own means of transport. With the little technology we had, I'd built up my own manipulator, one coded to my genetic structure. Unlike the trip we'd had, mine would have left me with no side effects, but hey I wasn't going to complain... much.

"Oh, my head," Martha complained as she held her head for a moment. I stumbled a bit, gaining my balance a second later.

"Time travel without a capsule," the Doctor and I said in unison. He turned, eyeing me suspiciously. I guess he wasn't used to people being as knowledgeable as him, although it was pretty damn obvious that travelling without a capsule would have some effect on the body.

"How did you know that?"

"Just do. I know a lot of things."

"How? Even if you're from the year hundred billion, there's no way you could know that."

I rolled my eyes at his idiocy. If the Master wasn't from that year, what the hell gave him any idea that I was. "Does it really matter? My…" I stopped, catching myself before I said anything further. He didn't know but I knew she did, I could feel it. Sighing, I took a deep breath to calm myself. "Look, your wife or whatever was kidnapped by a psychotic old man. Who knows what he's done… or has planned to do to her." The Doctor and I glared at each other before I stalked off down the sidewalk, leaving the others to follow.

Trying to ease the tension that had grown, Jack spoke up. "Still, at least we made it. Earth, 21st century, by the looks of it." He chuckled. "Talk about lucky."

"That wasn't luck. That was me," the Doctor ground out. With the uneasy expression Martha had, I moved her to a bench and pushed her down, knowing that a bit of rest would do her good, especially if it was her first time travelling without a capsule. The other two sat with her, leaving me to stand behind the bench.

"The moral is, if you're going to get stuck at the end of the universe, get stuck with an ex-Time Agent and his vortex manipulator."

"But this Master bloke, he's got the Tardis. He could be anywhere in time and space," Martha reasoned. She was making a very good point. The only way anyone could be certain that he was in the times would be if the Tardis controls were fused in a way that would allow for him to travel between the last two destinations. From the way the Doctor was, that was probably what he did.

"No, he's here. Trust me."

"Who is he, anyway? And that voice at the end, that wasn't the Professor."

"No, it wasn't. Yana was just the human persona of the Master. If you hadn't mentioned anything about the watch, we wouldn't be in this predicament," I snapped, causing the Doctor to glare at me, not that I cared. If they hadn't showed up, if Martha hadn't brought the watch to his attention, everything would have been fine. He would have died and I would have left; my plan would have been completed in full, with no worries about him.

"If the Master's a Time Lord, then he must have regenerated."

"What does that mean?"

"It means he's changed his face, voice, body, everything- new man," Jack explained. I nodded in agreement before I turned to a beggar tapping a four beat rhythm on his tin mug. It was odd but it was something that barely mattered at the moment.

I glanced at Martha as she began to speak. "Then how are we going to find him?"

"I'll know him… the moment I see him. Time Lords always do."

"But hold on. If he could be anyone… we missed the election. But it can't be," the woman trailed off as she turned to a series of public televisions that were broadcasting the news.

"Mister Saxon has returned from the Palace and is greeting the crowd inside Saxon Headquarters." An extremely blond man and woman walked down the steps with a familiar lilac haired woman slowly walking behind them. Her head was down, hiding her features from the view of the cameras. It seemed as if all her energy was being put into getting down those stairs. She looked a lot thinner than she had just minutes ago, and I couldn't help the flash of anger that coursed through me. Unable to control it, one of the televisions exploded, bringing attention to it from pedestrians and the three with me. Before they could question it though, Martha decided to speak.

"I said I knew that voice when he spoke inside the Tardis. I've heard that voice hundreds of times. I've seen him. We all have. That was the voice of Harold Saxon."

"That's him. He's Prime Minister."

"That's not the only thing," Jack said, pointing to the woman behind the pair. I brought my eyes back to one of the televisions as the others saw her for the first time. Rys seemed to have looked up, no longer having to walk down the stairs. However, she seemed to be swaying a bit, a guard having a steadfast hold on her arm. Her face was gaunt and there were dark circles under her eyes, most likely from the lack of sleep, or whatever the Master was doing to her.

"Mister Saxon, this way sir. Come on, kiss for the lady, sir."

"Rys… Wait, the Master is the Prime Minister of Great Britain." the Doctor said bewildered. I gritted my teeth as my anger increased; he seemed to not care about her, his curiosity of the matter seemed to override the fact she looked so unwell. "The Master and his wife?"

"Does it matter?" Jack snapped, thankfully. I was about ready to hit him for his lack of concern. "Why the hell is Rys standing there with him and why does she look sick?"

Before the Doctor could reply, the Master spoke. "This country has been sick. This country needs healing. This country needs medicine. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that what this country really needs right now… is a Doctor." The three of us glanced at the Doctor before I turned away and moved a few feet away from the three, fuming. He knew we were here and it was only a matter of time before we all were in the same room. When that time came, I'd make sure to have him pay for everything he'd ever done to me and her. The Master wouldn't live to see another regeneration.

Pulling a face, I moved a bit closer to them and turned to Martha. "Hey, you have a computer, right?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"We're going to your house. I could use it to figure out what that bastard's planning." Martha nodded and began to lead the way to her flat.

As we walked in, Martha let out a content breath, seeming happy to be in the very familiar place. "Home." After she'd closed the door, the three of us followed her into the living room.

"What have you got? Computer, laptop, anything," the Doctor questioned before he turned to Jack who had taken out his mobile. Martha disappeared into another room, most likely her bedroom, to retrieve the computer. The Doctor turned to Jack, eyeing him suspiciously. "Jack, who are you phoning? You can't tell anyone we're here." I rolled my eyes as I plopped down on the sofa. The Master already knew we were there, maybe not our exact location but he knew we were around. It was only a matter of time... though, then again, humans were habitual by nature and the first place most went when in danger was home. If he was going by that, then we were screwed.

"Just some friends of mine, but there's no reply."

Martha returned with her laptop, setting the machine on a desk. "Here you go. Any good?"

Jack nodded and sat in the chair, taking control of the computer. "I can show you the Saxon websites. He's been around for ages." He continued to click away as the Doctor hovered over him.

"That's so weird, though. It's the day after the election. That's only four days after I met you and Rys."

"We went flying all around the universe while he was here all the time."

"You going to tell us who he is?" Martha finally asked. I'd been waiting for someone to ask that question and to be honest, it took way too long for my liking. It should have been one of the first ones asked.

"He's a Time Lord."

"What about the rest of it? I mean, who'd call himself 'the Master'?"

"That's all you need to know," he replied, barely glancing at the woman. I rolled my eyes but understood why he didn't want to say anymore. Instead, I silently watched the two men scramble for information. "Come on, show me Harold Saxon." I watched Martha sigh and move to an end table, turning on her answering machine, only to shut it off a moment after the woman has started to speak.

"Oh, like it matters."

Finally pulling up the screen, commercials of Saxon advocators popped up. It was a bit shocking that he'd gotten so many people to rally for him, but then again, he did always seemed to have a sort of hypnotic aspect to him. It was subtle but for the most part, it worked for him. Not caring for what was being said in the commercials, I ignored them, only tuning back in when Jack began to speak. "Former Minister of Defence. First came to prominence when he shot down the Racnoss on Christmas Eve." He turned to the Doctor. "Nice work, by the way."

"Oh, thanks."

"But he goes back years. He's famous. Everyone knows his story. Look," Martha said as she pointed to the screen. "Cambridge University, Rugby blue. Won the Athletics thing. Wrote a novel, went into business, marriage, everything. He's got a whole life." I sighed and sank further into the chair, watching as Jack stood and left the room. He returned a few minutes later, four mugs of tea in hand.

"But he's got the Tardis. Maybe the Master went back in time and has been living here for decades."

"No," the Doctor and I said. That earned me another untrusting glare to which I rolled my eyes at. I wasn't there for him to trust me. The only reason he'd brought me along was because Rys had probably told him to do so. I ground my teeth as I thought of her. She knew and everything told me the Master was hurting her, it was almost as if I could feel it, hell, seeing her on the steps was enough to tell me that. Glancing at the Doctor, I saw his grim and angry expression. He probably felt it more than I did, them being together. His eyes were frantic and his body rigid. He was silently seething, holding it all in until he was in the presence of the Master. If it came to it, I wouldn't stop the man if he killed him, but I knew he wouldn't. One thing I'd realised since I'd met him was that he aimed to help, not kill. It did, however make me feel a bit better and come to understand that he was doing his best to remain calm. The fury of a Time Lord was something one wanted to avoid... the receiver would always get what they desired; bring their own downfall. I could see it, he was holding back so he wouldn't scare us, although something told me both had seen some of his fury.

"Why not? Worked for me."

"When he was stealing the Tardis, the only thing I could do was fuse the coordinates. I locked them, permanently," the Doctor explained to Jack. "He can only travel between the year one hundred trillion and the last place the Tardis landed, which is right here, right now."

"Yeah, but… a little leeway?"

"Well, eighteen months? Tops. The most he could have been here is eighteen months. So how has he managed all this? The Master was always sort of hypnotic, but this is on a massive scale." I gave a chaste nod in agreement before taking a sip of tea. It wasn't half bad, then again, everything's better than the crap I had before.

"I was going to vote for him."

The Doctor snapped his head in her direction. "Really?"

"Well, it was before I even met you… and I liked him."

"Me too," Jack agreed. The Doctor seemed bewildered by their confessions, but he seemed to be forgetting just how hypnotic the man could be.

"Why do you say that? What was his policy? What did he stand for?"

"I don't know. He always sounded… good," Martha replied, a distant expression on her face. Glancing down at her hands, I saw her tapping the same four beat rhythm as the beggar. "Like you could trust him. Just nice. He spoke about… I can't really remember, but it was good. Just the sound of his voice."

"What's that?"

"What?"

"That- that tapping, that rhythm. What are you doing?" the Doctor growled, making the woman jump.

"I don't know. It's nothing. It's just- I don't know." As she answered, there was a pop up that said Saxon was broadcasting. The Doctor reached for the remote that sat on the end table beside me but I grabbed it before he could and turned on the television.

"Our lord and master is speaking to his kingdom," the Doctor said, bitterly might I add.

"Britain, Britain, Britain. What extraordinary times we've had. Just a few years ago, this world was so small. And then they came, out of the unknown, falling from the skies. You've seen it happen- Big Ben destroyed, a spaceship over London, all those ghosts and metal men, the Christmas star that came to kill. Time and time again, and the government told you nothing. Well, not me, not Harold Saxon. Because my purpose here today is to tell you this- citizens of Great Britain… I have been contacted- a message for humanity, from beyond the stars."

A black sphere appeared beside the Master. "People of Earth, we come in peace. We bring great gifts- we bring technology and wisdom and protection. And all we ask in return is your friendship."

"Ooo, sweet. And this species has identified itself. They are called the Toclafane."

"What?"

"What the hell is he doing," I growled, causing Jack to glance at me. I paid him no mind, my attention solely on the Master.

"And tomorrow morning, they will appear- not in secret, but to all of you. Diplomatic relations with a new species will begin. Tomorrow, we take our place in the universe- every man, woman, and child, every teacher and chemist and lorry driver and farmer. Oh, I don't know, every medical student?"

The Doctor raced to the television and turned it around, showing sticks of explosive strapped to its back. "Out!" the Doctor ordered as Jack and Martha ran out. I followed behind him, waiting until he had grabbed the laptop to race after him. As we reached the street, the first floor exploded, a massive fireball smashing the windows. "All right?"

"Fine, yeah, fine," Jack replied as he dusted some debris off his coat.

I moved to the nearby building and leant against the wall, watching as Martha took out her mobile. The Doctor turned, seeing her as well. "Martha? What are you doing?"

She continued to dial a number on her phone, seeming to ignoring him as she did so. "He knows about me. What about my family."

"Don't tell them anything!"

"I'll do what I like," she snapped. Someone must have answered since the tone of her voice changed. "Mum! Oh my God, you're there."

I stood up, walking towards a camera and examining it. The whole place was littered with CCTV, making things a lot more difficult for us. "We should move. We're too exposed out here," I said as I faced the trio.

The Doctor scoffed. "Right, and you would know all about that."

"Yes, I would. Listen, I know you're worried about her but don't take it out on me. I've done nothing to harm her."

"You could have kept him away from her. You could have protected her!"

"Right, because I chose to be hit with a metal pipe and knocked unconscious."

"You could have done something. You have no idea what he's capable of. She could be dead," the Doctor snarled, taking a menacing step towards me. I stood my ground, glaring at him; there was no way in hell I would back down. Too much had happened for me to let him bitch me about.

"I know exactly what he's capable of! Who are you to say I don't know? You know NOTHING about me. So keep your damn opinions to yourself and piss off, old man because right now, the only person I care about is with the Master and I'll do whatever it takes to rescue her." I then stormed off, opting for an alley in order to calm myself down. From my spot, I could hear Martha and the Doctor arguing. A moment later, Jack stood before me. There was a sympathetic expression on his face as he looked at me. I did my best not to let it bother me; it wasn't his fault the Doctor was an arsehole.

"Come on. We're leaving." I nodded and followed the man, getting into the back of Martha's car with him. Once piled in, she sped off like a demon out of hell.

As she sped down the road, Martha did her best to avoid oncoming traffic as she manoeuvred the busy streets. As she did so, she began to make another phone call, begging for someone named Tish to answer. Tish did so but a second later we all heard as she seemed to be taken from wherever she was. "What's happening? Tish!" Martha turned to the Doctor. "It's your fault. It's all your fault!" As we pulled up to Martha's parent's... or maybe her mum's place, men were trying to get the older woman into a police van.

"I was helping you! Get off me! Martha, get out of here! Get out!"

One of the men said something and the armed police took their positions. I stared at the woman with us, wondering if she was so shocked that she had become paralysed. I'd seen it happen a few times and the current situation wasn't the best for her to freeze up on. "Martha, reverse," the Doctor said from his spot beside her.

"Take aim."

"Get out now!"

"Fire!" Martha finally came out of her shock and put the car in reverse, pulling a three point turn as bullets slammed into the car.

"Move it!" Jack yelled as the rear window shattered, showering him and me with glass. Sitting back up, I brushed the glass off and stared out the destroyed rear-view window.

"The only place we can go planet Earth. Great!" Martha said spitefully as she drove.

"Careful!"

Groaning, Jack sat up in the seat, placing himself between the two front seats. "Martha, listen to me. Do as I say. We've got to ditch this car. Pull over. Right now!" She did a Jack said and we were soon standing at an underpass in the rain.

"Martha, come on!" the Doctor said to her as she began to make another phone call. I sighed, understanding her need to contact her family. It was instinct, the desire to know that your family was safe and so far, it seemed as if the relative she was speaking to was the only one out of the Master's grasp. At the same time though, I could understand the Doctor's desire to leave them. They weren't his family and the only person he cared about was in the Master's clutches. He wanted to reach her, to take her from whatever nightmare she was experiencing. I looked up as the voice on the other end changed.

"Let them go, Saxon. Do you hear me! Let them go!" The Doctor quickly strode over and took the phone.

"I'm here." I walked over to him, ignoring the glare the man sent me. I needed to know what he was saying. I needed to know she was safe. Still, with the Doctor's constant glare, I kept just enough distance so that I could clearly hear the Master's end of the conversation.

"Doctor."

"Master."

"I like it when you use my name."

"You chose it. Psychiatrist's field day."

"As you chose yours- the man who makes people better. How sanctimonious is that?"

"So… Prime Minster, then?" I rolled my eyes at the conversation. I was getting nothing out of it, no useful information. It was just two men basically sizing the other up.

"I know! It's good, isn't it?"

"Who are those creatures? 'Cause there's no such thing as the Toclafane- it's just a made up name, like the Bogeyman," the Doctor replied, ignoring his previous comment.

"Do you remember all those fairy tales about the Toclafane when we were kids? Back home. Where is it, Doctor?"

"Gone."

My eyes shot to the Time Lord before me. "How can Gallifrey be gone?" the Master asked in quiet outrage. I wondered the same thing as well. How could our planet be gone? What had I missed? What happened?

"It burnt."

"And the Time Lords?"

"Dead. And the Daleks, more or less. What happened to you?"

"The Time Lords only resurrected me because they knew I'd be the perfect warrior for a Time War. I was there when the Dalek Emperor took control of the Cruciform. So was your darling son. We saw it. We ran. We ran so far. I made myself human, so they would never find me, because… I was scared. But that worthless boy," he angrily spat, "he didn't change at all. He remained a Time Lord and so I locked him up, kept him from leaving, from alerting them. I was so scared." I looked away, silently recalling everything the man had done to me prior to becoming Yana. Unknowingly my fists had clenched and the sudden urge to make my way to wherever the man was filled me. Realising my murderous thoughts, I began to count, only to stop when I had fully calmed. While he deserved to die, I didn't want to be in a rage when it happened; that would be a quick death. I wanted him to suffer.

"I know."

"All of them? But not you, which must mean…"

"I was the only one who could end it. And I tried. I did. I tried everything."

"Did she stand beside you? Did the Destroyer see the monster you'd become?"

"She had already left."

"What did it feel like, though? Two almighty civilisations, burning. Oh, tell me. How did that feel?"

"Stop it!"

"You must have been like God."

"I've been alone until ever since, but not anymore. Not after finding Rys. Don't you see? All we've got is each other."

"Are you asking me out on a date? I don't think your wife would like that very much."

"You know she's not just my wife." Both men were silent for what seemed like an eternity. "You could stop this, right now. We could leave this planet, the three of us. We can fight- across the constellations, if that's what you want, but not on Earth."

"Too late."

"Why do you say that?"

"The drumming. Can't you hear it? Your precious wife does… you should see her, writhing in such… agony. I thought it would stop, but it never does. Never ever stops. Inside my head, the drumming, Doctor. The constant drumming."

"I could help you. Please, let me help."

"She's heard it, you know. It's everywhere. Listen, listen, listen. Here come the drums. Here come the drums." The four of us turned our attention to a lounging man as he began to tap the rhythm Martha had earlier on his thigh. I snatched the phone from the Doctor.

"What the hell have you done?"

"Ah, has he figured it out yet? I'd guess not. He's so thick sometimes. Always has been. Would you like to speak to mummy?"

"Shut up! What the hell are those things? The Toclafane are just nightmares, tall tales. What are they… no, who are they?" I snarled. It would be idiotic not to recognise the genius the man was. Especially since he couldn't really use the Tardis. However, whatever he was using her for, it wouldn't and wasn't good.

"You've obviously inherited your mum's brains. Tell you what… Ooo look. You're on TV."

"Answer me!"

"No, really. You're on the telly. You and the rest of the gang, which…" I growled and handed the phone to the Doctor, turning to the shop window that had a television on. The ticker said there was a nationwide hunt for terrorist suspects, then showing the picture of the four of us.

"Who also identifies himself as the 'Captain'. They are known to be armed and dangerous."

"He can see us," the Doctor said before he used his sonic screwdriver on the CCTV camera. "He's got control of everything."

"What do we do?"

"We've got nowhere to go."

"Doctor, what do we do?"

"We run," the Time Lord simply stated.

I stared at him bewildered. "We can't just run!" Running wasn't something I had banked on. It was never a solution. I'd always been taught to stand and figure out a solution. Running only led to more problems.

"What are we supposed to do then? He has eyes everywhere and we have no plan. Right now, we run!" I grimaced but said nothing more. Silently, I followed the trio, no longer caring where they led me but knowing I would stand before the Master one way or another.

The four of us stopped running when we reached an abandoned warehouse in a less populated area of London. After squatting for a few hours, Martha had left to gather up some food. Majority of those hours were spent with the trio silently planning their next move and me standing in the farthest corner. More than once Jack and Martha had tried to get me to join their group but I refused, feeling irritation set in the longer I was around the Doctor. The entire phone call, he didn't even ask about her, he didn't even question whether or not she was safe. Granted, I hadn't either but his mention of her, it told me she was AT LEAST alive.

When Martha had returned with the takeaway, the two men sat down in two of the three seats as she came and handed me a box. I thanked her before setting it aside and inching a bit closer to the three. While I didn't want to be anywhere near the man, I wanted to know what was being said; I had to know what the conversation was about.

"How was it?" Jack asked her as he fiddled with his Vortex Manipulator.

"I don't think anyone saw me. Anything new?"

"I've got this tuned to government wavelengths so we can follow what Saxon's doing."

"Yeah, I meant about my family," Martha snapped in irritation. I smirked as Jack gave her a sheepish grin in apology.

"Still says the Jones family taken in for questioning. Tell you what, though- no mention of Leo."

"He's not as daft as he looks. I'm talking about my brother on the run. How did this happen?"

"Nice chips."

"Actually, they're not bad." I watched as Martha and Jack shared a glance, the former silently asking him to question about the Master. It was slightly amusing to see them so hesitant to ask him about the Master. It wasn't like it was something to be hidden.

"So, Doctor… who is he? How come the ancient society of Time Lords created a psychopath?" I snorted at Jack's wording. It was extremely accurate in respect to the Master. The man never had any regard for life besides his own... much like a dalek.

The three glanced at me, the Doctor's more of a glare, but they returned to their conversation... or well light interrogation. "And what is he to you? A colleague or…"

"A friend, at first."

"I thought you were going to say your secret brother or something," Martha chuckled.

"You've been watching too much TV."

"But all the legends of Gallifrey made it sound so perfect."

"Gallifrey was far from perfect… at least once the Time War kicked in," I stated with a shrug. "Prior to, sure, it could have been up there but it was stifled by war."

"He's right. It was perfect to look at, maybe. And it was. It was beautiful. They used to call it the Shining World of the Seven Systems. And on the Continent of Wild Endeavour, in the Mountains of Solace and Solitude, there stood the Citadel of the Time Lords… the oldest and most mighty race in the universe, looking down on the galaxies below, sworn never to interfere, only to watch. Children of Gallifrey, are taken from their families at the age of eight to enter the Academy. Some say that's when it all began, when he was a child. That's when the Master saw eternity. As a novice, he was taken for initiation. He stood in front of the Untempered Schism. It's a… gap in the fabric of reality through which could be seen the whole of the vortex. You stand there, eight years old… staring at the raw power of time and space, just a child. Some would be inspired, some would run away… and some would go mad. I don't know. Thing is, how do you know this, Kiel?"

"You honestly thought you were the last three Time Lords?" I said with a scoff. "Rys figured it out… spent the whole time trying to figure it out."

"You're a Time Lord?"

"Born and bred. I even fought in the war for a short time."

"What happened?" Jack questioned.

"I was kidnapped and declared dead."

"Wait, what about you?"

"Huh?"

"Which one were you, Doctor?"

"Oh, the ones that ran away. I never stopped."

"What about you, Kiel?"

"I don't fit in any of the categories," I answered just as Jack's Vortex Manipulator beeped.

"Encrypted channel with files attached. Don't recognise it."

"Patch it through to the laptop."

"Um, since we're telling stories, um, there's something I haven't told you," Jack hesitantly stated as he glanced up at the Doctor. I stared at the two in confusion as the Torchwood logo appeared on the laptop as he patched his vortex manipulator to the laptop.

"You work for Torchwood?"

"I swear to you, it's different. It's changed. There's only half a dozen of us now."

"Everything Torchwood did... all the anguish and death, and you're part of it?"

"The old regime was destroyed at Canary Wharf. I rebuilt it, changed it, and when I did that, I did it for you, in your honour." The Doctor glanced at Jack a moment before he pressed the space key, starting the transmission.

"If I haven't returned to my desk by twenty two hundred, this file will be emailed to Torchwood. Which means if you're watching this, then I'm…" the woman on the screen paused, not really wanting to address that she was dead. "Anyway, the Saxon files are attached. But take a look at the Archangel document. That's when it all started, when Harry Saxon became Minister in charge of launching the Archangel Network."

"What's the Archangel Network?"

"I've got Archangel. Everyone's got it."

"It's a mobile phone network, 'cause look," Jack said, pulling up the screen of what he wanted to show us, "it's gone worldwide. They've got fifteen satellites in orbit. Even the other networks, they're all carried by Archangel."

"It's in the phones! Oh, I said he was a hypnotist. Wait, wait, wait. Hold on." He soniced Martha's phone and it began to beep, sending out those four thumps that I had been hearing since we'd arrived. Always those four beats. "There it is. That rhythm, it's everywhere, ticking away in the subconscious."

"What is it, mind control?"

"No, no, no, no, no. It's subtler than that. Any stronger, and people would question it. But contained in that rhythm, in layers of code, 'Vote Saxon. Believe in me', whispering to the world." The Doctor ran his hands through his hair as he figured it out. "Oh, yes! That's how he hid himself from me, 'cause I should have sensed there was another Time Lord on Earth, I should have known way back, but… the signal cancelled him out."

"You couldn't sense me."

"Yes, but that's extremely different." I shrugged, believing him. There were multiple things I could do to keep myself hidden from other Time Lords; it helped during the war, keeping me safe from the Daleks and giving the Master that much of a harder time in finding me. He did eventually, but it took him months of searching. It was the one thing that I hadn't understood for a while, but then I realised that his insanity that allowed him to see through perception filters.

"Any way you can stop it?"

"Not from down here. But now we know how he's doing it."

"And we can fight back."

"Oh, yes!" I watched as the Doctor took apart the phone and laptop. He then began to weld the parts to three Tardis keys. As he did that, I walked the outline of the small area we hid in I didn't have a Tardis key, and I knew the Doctor wouldn't give me one since he had no trust in me. It was fine though, I had my own tricks. Coming out of my thoughts, I turned to face Martha as she approached me.

"You all right?"

"Peachy. All's well in the world." The woman stared at me a moment before a soft smile littered he face. I stared at her in confusion. "What?"

"Nothing. You just sounded a lot like Rys just there. If she were here, I'm pretty sure the Doctor would be in a better mood and she'd have already figured it out... what the Toclafane were I mean. She's brilliant, you know? Somehow she always seemed to figure things out long before the Doctor but she'd never tell him. Always have him figure it out on his own."

"He enjoys it too much. Figuring things out."

"He does. For the most part, she'd just smile at him or give little nods when he was getting closer to the answer. I think it's one of the things he loves about her. She understands that he likes to figure things out on his own."

"They're in love, aren't they?"

"Seems like it. They've been together for almost five centuries, at least that's what the Doctor's said. I'm guessing they've been through a lot."

"Are they happy?"

"Very, at least from what I witnessed. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. Come on, the Doctor's finished what he was doing," I hurriedly replied as I led her back to the camp.

"Three Tardis keys. Three pieces of the Tardis, all with low level perception properties, because the Tardis is designed to blend in. Well, sort of- but, now, the Archangel Network's got a second low level signal. Weld the key to the network and… Martha, look at me. You can see me, yes?"

"Yep."

"What about now?" He placed the stringed key around his neck and I watched as Martha struggled to look straight at him. Jack too began to struggle as she tried to focus in. "No, I'm here. Look at me."

"It's like… I know you're there, but I don't want to know."

I chuckled, the first time in a while. "Yeah, that's a perception filter."

"And back again," he said, pulling the key from around his neck. "See? It just shifts your perception a tiny little bit. Doesn't make us invisible, just unnoticed. Oh, I know what it's like. It's like- it's like when you fancy someone and they don't even know you exist. That's what it's like. Come on!"

"You too, huh?" Jack asked with a small smirk, sharing a look with Martha. I stared at the two, understanding his words. I suppose it was unfortunate for one to fall for another and never truly be seen. It was heart wrenching to be honest.

"Wait, what about Kiel?" Martha asked as she shot me a quick glance.

"Don't worry about me. I have my own methods of going unnoticed." The woman nodded and the three placed the key around their necks. Smirking, I focused on creating my own filter and soon, the four of us were stealthily making our way down the streets.

"Don't run, don't shout, just keep your voice down. Draw attention to yourself, and the spell is broken. Just keep to the shadows," the Doctor ordered as we were halfway through a pathway.

"Like ghosts," Jack simplified.

"Yeah, that's what we are- Ghosts." Quietly, we slunk through the dark streets, side stepping people to keep from walking into them.

After a while of walking, we found ourselves standing atop a hill at an airport watching the Master speak to the U.S President. I felt my jaw clench as I saw Rys' sickly form standing behind him and his wife. After an exchange of words, the woman and the president left and a police van pulled onto the tarmac. As they left, he looked up at us a smug smile on his face before he turned to the approaching van. The Master quickly ran over to it, dragging Rys along with him, his hand tightly wrapped around her arm. She could barely keep up with him, stumbling every few steps or so. It took everything in my power to resist the urge to approach the man as he waiting for the doors to open. A moment later, Martha's family were pulled out. I quickly glanced at her, taking in the woman's pained expression. "Oh my God."

"Don't move."

"But the-"

"Martha, you can't," I muttered lowly as the three were pushed into a range rover.

"I'm going to kill him," she angrily spat. Luckily, she didn't move from her spot.

"What say I use this perception filter to walk up behind him and break his neck?" Jack offered.

"Now, that sounds like Torchwood."

"Still a good plan."

"He's a Time Lord, which makes him my responsibility."

"OUR responsibility," I snapped.

He ignored me. "I'm not here to kill him. I'm here to save him."

"Well you know what, Doctor? If you don't kill him, I will."

"And that'll make me your enemy."

"You wouldn't be the first."

"Who are you?"

"I'm sure you'd love to know."

"Actually, I would."

"That's very nice to know. Doesn't mean I'm going to tell you a damn thing."

"Enough! We don't have time for you two to act like children." Jack snapped, obviously tired of our bickering. I looked at the man, turning my attention from the Doctor. I could understand his irritation and he was right; time was of the essence and we had so very little of it. "Aircraft carrier Valiant. It's a UNIT ship at fifty eight point two north, ten point oh two east."

"How do we get on board?" Martha asked.

"Does that thing work as a teleport?"

"Since you revamped it, yeah." Jack began to type in our next destination. "Coordinates set." Placing our hands on his wrist, we soon found ourselves in what looked to be an engine room. The three again regained themselves, the Doctor taking the less time of them.

"Oh, that thing is rough," Martha complained.

"I've had worse nights. Welcome to the Valiant."

"It's dawn. Hold on, I thought it was a ship. Where's the sea?"

"A ship for the twenty first century, protecting the skies of planet Earth."

"Right."

"No time for chit chat," the Doctor snapped as he took off.

As we ran down corridors, the Doctor and I came to an abrupt halt. The man spared me a small glance. "Hear that?" I asked the man to get a curt nod in reply. I grimaced at the sound, my heart aching as I heard it. It was the sound of a sick Tardis.

"We've no time for sightseeing."

"No, wait. Shush, shush, shush, shush. Can't you hear it?"

Jack stared at the man confused. "Hear what?"

"Doctor, my family's on board."

"Brilliant. This way!" The man then ran down a gangway and opened a door at the end. Before us, surrounded by boxes was the Tardis. "Oh, at last!" the Doctor exclaimed as he ran to it, pushing the blue doors open. I followed, instantly stopping as I saw the red light that bathed the Tardis, and the cage that surrounded her console.

"What the hell's he done?"

"Don't touch it!"

"I'm not going to," Jack replied from his spot by the door.

"What's he done though? Sounds like it's… sick."

"She's sick." I turned to the Doctor, yelling at the man. "This is why we should have killed him when we had the chance, or at least have me do it if you didn't want to dirty your hands."

"Keep talking about killing and you'll make me your enemy, Kiel."

"Not an enemy… a disappointment."

The Doctor stared me down for a moment before he turned his attention back to the Tardis, seeming to figure out exactly what had been done to her. "It can't be," he stated as he seemed to figure out what the Master'd done. "No, no, no, no, no, no. It can't be."

"Doctor, what is it?"

"He's cannibalised the Tardis."

"Is this what I think it is?" Jack asked and I walked towards the console's base and examined a gauge that stood by the mesh.

"It's a paradox machine." The Doctor joined me, tapping the gauge. "Soon as this hits red, it activates. At this speed, it'll trigger at… two minutes past eight."

"First contact is at eight, then two minutes later…"

"What's it for? What does a paradox machine do?"

I began to explain it to Martha but Jack ended up cutting me off. "More important- can you stop it?"

"Not till I know what it's doing. Touch the wrong bit, blow up the solar system."

"Then we've got to get the Master."

"And how do you suppose we stop him?" I asked the woman.

"Oh, I've got a way." I glared up at the Doctor. "Sorry, didn't I mention it?"

"No," I snapped before exiting the room and heading for the one place I knew the Master would be.

Reaching the flight deck, the four of us stood in the back, watching as President Winters spoke to the cameras. I ground my teeth as I saw Rys sitting beside the Master, her head tilted down in almost submission. Although I couldn't see anything physically wrong with her, meaning no wounds, I knew he'd done something to her. She swayed just a bit and her complexion was a tad paler than usual. I wanted nothing more than to kill that man but it would make no difference. He already knew we were there, something I'd kept from the three beside me. Due to his insanity, he could see past perception filters, even mine. I watched him turn and we made eye contact, a sickening grin crossing his lips. He turned and whispered something into Rys' ear, causing her to turn as well. Her eyes widened in shock as she glanced at us, before she quickly faced the front. She also seemed to be able to see past the filters, something I was glad for... something that she had passed down to me. Yet, the feeling of uneasiness boiled in my stomach.

"My fellow Americans, patriots, people of the world," Winters began. "I stand before you today as ambassador for humanity, a role I will undertake with the utmost solemnity. Perhaps our Toclafane cousins can offer us much, but what is important is not that we gain material benefits, but that we learn to see ourselves anew. For as long as man has looked at the stars, he has wondered what mysteries they hold. Now we know we are not alone."

"This plan… you going to tell us?" Jack whispered to the Doctor.

"No longer unique in the universe," Winters continued.

"If I can get this around the Master's neck, cancel out his perception, they'll see him for real. It's just… hard to go unnoticed with everyone on red alert. If they stop me, you've got a key."

"Yes, sir."

"I'll get him," Martha nodded. "Kiel?"

"Yeah, sure," I answered half heartedly. There was no way I was going to do anything to the man while it was being broadcasted, especially since I was intent on murdering him. I refused to do anything to bring attention to myself.

"And I ask you now, I ask of the human race, to join with me in welcoming our friends. I give you the Toclafane." Four black spheres appeared. "My name is Arthur Coleman Winters, President Elect of the United States of America, and designated representative of the United Nations. I welcome you to the planet Earth and its associated moon."

"You're not the Master," one said.

"We like the Mister Master."

"We don't like you."

"I can be master," Winters said uncertainly, "if you so wish. I will accept mastery over you, if that is God's will."

"Man is stupid."

"Master is our friend."

"Where's my Master, pretty please?"

The Master then stood, his arms spread and a grin on his face. "Oh, all right then. It's me. Ta da! Sorry, sorry, I have this effect. People just get obsessed. Is it the smile? Is it the aftershave? Is it the capacity to laugh at myself? I don't know. It's crazy."

I watched as Winters stared him down. "Saxon, what are you talking about?"

"I'm taking control, Uncle Sam, starting with you. Kill him," he ordered. One of the spheres opened up a bit and pointed its weapon at Winters, shooting him once. The man disintegrated into bits and the people in the room began to go into hysterics. The guards that had arrived with the President drew their guns as the Master laughed and applauded. "Guards!"

"Nobody move! Nobody move!"

"Now then! Peoples of the Earth, please attend carefully." The Doctor then took off and removed his key. Before he was close enough to the Master, two guards grabbed him. "We meet at last, Doctor. Oh, ho! I love saying that." He turned to glance at Rys who hadn't moved from her spot.

"Stop it! Stop it now!"

"As if a perception filter's going to work on me. And look… it's the girlie and the freak, although, I'm not sure which one's which. You even brought the lost child. Aren't you going to look at him, Rys? Or is it too painful to see?" She began to turn but suddenly returned to how she was. "Too painful, I see. Well, it doesn't matter." I glared at the man, seeing Jack run forward. The Master shot him with a screwdriver. "Laser screwdriver. Who'd have sonic? And the good thing is, he's not dead for long. I get to kill him again!"

"Master, just calm down. Just look at what you're doing. Just stop. If you could see yourself…"

The Master rolled his eyes and turned to the other people in the room, mainly the camera crew. "Oh, do excuse me. Little bit of personal business. Back in a minute- let him go."

The guards released the Doctor. "It's that sound- the sound in your head, what if I could help?"

"Oh, how to shut him up? I know- memory lane. Professor Lazarus- remember him and his genetic manipulation device? What, did you think that little Tish got that job merely by coincidence? I've been laying traps for you all this time, and if I can concentrate all that Lazarus technology into one little screwdriver… but, ooo, if I only had the Doctor's biological code. Oh, wait a minute- I do." He opened a large metal briefcase. "I've got his hand. And if Lazarus made himself younger, what if I reverse it? Another… hundred years?" The Master aimed the screwdriver at the Doctor and the man began to convulse rapidly. Jack took in a deep breath and Martha ran towards him. I ignored them, keeping my gaze on the Master, breathing a small sigh of relief as he stopped torturing the Doctor, who had been aged into an old man with his barely there white strands of hair. I saw Martha leave Jack's side and rush to the Doctor's.

"Doctor? I've got you."

"Ah, she's a would be doctor. But tonight, Martha Jones, we've flown them in, all the way from prison!" Martha's family, sans her brother, were brought in with their wrists fastened together with cable ties.

"Mum!"

"I'm sorry," the woman sobbed.

"The Toclafane. What are they? Who are they?"

"Doctor, if I told you the truth, your hearts would break. Rys' already have."

"Is it time? Is it ready?"

"Is the machine singing?"

"Two minutes past. So! Earthlings… basically, um… end of the world. Here... comes… the drums!" Rogue Trader's Voodoo Child began to play as the paradox machine kicked up. I grimaced as thousands of spheres began to appear at the windows, coming down from a hole in the sky. It stuck, thanks to the paradox machine the Master had made out of the Tardis. I saw his wife walk up to him as he stood by the window and placed a hand on his arm. He glanced down at her. "How many do you think?"

"I- I don't know."

"Six billion. Down you go kids! Shall we decimate them? That sounds good. A nice word, 'decimate'. Remove one tenth of the population." I felt anger build up in me and I took a step towards the Doctor and Martha. "How sweet. Checking the old man." I rolled my eyes at him and grabbed Martha's arm as she held onto Jack's vortex manipulator.

"Valiant, this is Geneva. We're getting slaughtered down here. Valiant, report. Help us. For God's sake, help us! They're everywhere!" More reports began to pour in and each time, Martha flinched. "This is London, Valiant. This is London calling. What do we do? They're killing us! The Toclafane are all around. They're killing us." Sharing a glance, she pressed the button and we teleported away and landed in Hampstead Heath. Helping her to her feet, we turned, seeing the destruction the 'Toclafane' had already imposed.

"We're coming back," she promised before we turned away from the burning London and went on our way.

* * *

_28/2/2015 _

_Hey all. Yes, I know, I'm FINALLY updating Her Secrets. Like I had said before, my computer ended up dying (broken screen and water damage) and I've had to wait a while to get my new one. During the wait, I hadn't factored in my CB since the last time I tried to use it for Her Secrets, it froze the damn thing since there was so much to the file. But yeah, I've been having one technical difficulty after another with the onslaught of school so I hope you guys can forgive me. Since I have figured things out, it should take less time for me to update, which I'm hoping the next one will be by next Wednesday but don't hold me to it. _

_So, I finished editing this chapter in three days mainly due to laziness. It literally took me putting on Return of the King in order for me to really buckle down. Before I was listening to the Dragon Age soundtracks, which were working wonderfully but then I would be lulled to sleep. Hopefully you all enjoyed the chapter. I did say in the previous that I would be switching the POV and I hope you liked getting things from another perspective. It was actually pretty fun writing from Kiel's but it won't happen very often. In fact, this is pretty much the only POV change in this work. I will however, if you guys want, add his stuff to the Her Secrets: One Shots... after I get up to it of course. With that said, thanks to everyone who stuck with the story, and with me these past few weeks. I'm sure waiting might have been a bit hard but it is finally updated. Thanks again to all who followed, favourited, and reviewed. It literally makes my day. Now, onto the reviews._

_**Squidtastik:** Hope you liked the reveal. _

_**NicoleR85:** Not much of the Master's treatment of Rys in this chapter but it will be coming up soon. _

_**Muirgen79:** Thanks. He just can't stay away from the Doctor. _

_**Takara Matsudaira:** Yay! I'm totally viewing that as an accomplishment lolz. I think that was the shortest review I've gotten from you to date. To be honest, I always expect a paragraph or two but now you're keeping me on my toes haha. I'm so glad you enjoyed that chapter and I hope you liked this one as well. _

_**margie-me:** Thanks so much. I'm happy to hear/read that you enjoyed the chapter. Yeah, dealing with the Master is never fun. I think it's more of him apologising for not being able to help him. The Doctor chose his name because he wanted to help people and he could do so for his childhood friend. That has always been my way of looking at it. He most definitely is an amazing foil for the Doctor. They just are so perfect together. As for Rys, yeah, the 18 months have been hard on here but there's also the year that never was coming up as well. _

_**tardiscompanion101:** Thanks for reviewing. I'm so glad you liked the chapter. Your request has been granted. Hope you liked. _


	55. The Last of the Time Lords

Rys

I silently stumbled behind the Master as he made his way to the flight deck, my body too weak to move at the pace he was going at. For the past year I'd been his prisoner, the main recipient of his brutish ways. My body was black and blue from the constant beatings I'd received the alarming loss of weight was more noticeable to those around than it had been before. Honestly though, it didn't bother me in the slightest; sad to say, it was nothing compared to what I'd dealt with on Gallifrey. All the torture reminded me of my time as Rassilon's prisoner. It wasn't comfortable or enjoyable; it was how things were, and silently taking it would keep me alive, no matter how much I wanted to speak out or kill him. The Master held the life of the people I cared about in his hands and there was nothing I could do to save them besides remain silent. Thing was, for how long I would just take it before I actually retaliated.

Reaching the deck, he began to dance to the song playing. As he approached his wife, I stood at the bottom of the staircase, keeping my head low. I didn't want to look at HIM. The guilt of not doing anything to save him from the Master festered and consumed me. Even if he could find it in his heart to forgive me, I could never forgive myself. Leaving my thoughts, I looked up and saw Francine enter the room with tea. The Master rang his bell and from the corner of my eye, I watched my aged husband crawled from a straw-strewn tent. I felt a sob rise within me, as well as the desire to rip the Master's head from his body, but I forced it down. That would do nothing to stop the Toclafane. Instead, I shut my eyes, hoping to block it all and when I opened them, the Doctor was in a wheelchair being pushed around the deck by the Master. The two stopped at the massive window. "It's ready to rise, Doctor, the new Time Lord Empire. It's good, isn't it? Isn't it good? Anything? No?" He waved his hand in front of his face. He got nothing in reply. "Anything? Oh, but they broke your hearts, didn't they- those Toclafane- ever since you worked out what they really are." He stopped waiting for some confirmation. When he didn't answer, he continued. "They say Martha Jones… has come back home. Now why would she do that?"

"Leave her alone."

"But you said something to her, didn't you? On the day I took control. What did you tell her?"

"I have one thing to say to you. You know what it is."

"Oh, no, you don't!" He forcefully pushed the wheelchair away, causing it to roll into a far off wall. I made a move to go after it but one look from the Master stopped me. From that look, I knew I'd be paying for it.

"Valiant now entering Zone One airspace. Citizens, rejoice."

"Come on, people! What are we doing? Launch Day in twenty four hours!" the mad man snapped before storming out of the room, followed by Lucy and myself.

Hours of torture later, the three of us returned to the flight deck where Francine, Tish, and the Doctor already were. Standing to the side of the room were a few other women. "Time for my massage. Who shall I have today?" He looked between the women for a moment, contemplating. "Tanya. Come on, sweetheart. Lucy, have you met Tanya? She's gorgeous." I grimaced as he shamelessly flirted with the woman as his wife stood by. It was disgusting. He had no regard for the feelings of others; then again, he was a psychotic murderer. "Tanya, when we go to the stars, I'm going to take you to the Catriga Nova. Whirlpools of gold." He turned to Lucy. "You two should get to know each other. That might be fun," he suggested as Tanya massaged his shoulders. I glanced up to see Lucy give him a slight nod and strained smile. I felt so sorry for her. She was stuck with the man; while I was literally his main punching bag, she received some of it as well, she also had to deal with the emotional and mental abuse I had grow immune to.

"Condition red."

The Master abruptly stood, causing Tanya to jump a bit. "What the hell?"

"Repeat- condition red," the tannoy continued as Francine threw the Master's jacket to Tish who in turn gave it to the Doctor. The moment it was in his hands, he reached in and removed the laser screwdriver, pointing it at the Master, using the banister for support.

"Oh, I see."

"I told you. I have one thing to say,"

The Master began to laugh, which only grew more manic as the Doctor continued to try and get the screwdriver to work. "Isomorphic controls," he spat before he snatched it and punched the Doctor, sending his elderly form sprawling to the ground. Not caring that I'd have to deal with the Master's wrath and undergo more perverse forms of torture, I rushed to the Doctor's side. It was the first time I'd touched him since we'd been there and it was bittersweet to do so. Instead of grabbing my arm, he wrapped his around my waist, pulling me closer to him. It felt so good to be in his arms again, but it wasn't going to last. Instead of facing him, I kept my eyes solely on the Master, watching as he interacted with the Jones' women.

"Which means they only work for me. Like this." He pointed it and shot, nearly hitting Francine. "Say sorry!"

"Sorry. Sorry! Sorry," the woman cried, terror lacing her voice.

Tish raced to her side. "Mum!"

"Didn't you learn anything from the blessed Saint Martha?" Lucy rushed to his side, grabbing his jacket and holding it up for him. "Siding with the Doctor is a very dangerous thing to do. Take them away."

A group of men in black approached the pair, one stepping forward toward the two women. "Move. Come on." As they were ushered from the room, another grabbed my arm and dragged me to my feet, moving me to the other side of the room. He kept a firm grip on me, making sure I wouldn't move an inch.

"Okay. Gotcha," the Master said as he helped the Doctor into a chair as Tish and Francine were led away. "Oh boy. There you go, Gramps. Oh, do you know? I remember the days when the Doctor- oh, that famous Doctor- was waging a Time War, battling Sea Devils and Axons. He sealed the rift at the Medusa Cascade single handed. Single handed. And look at him now, stealing screwdrivers. And don't get me started on her," he said as he pointed to me. "The famed Destroyer, the bringer of death to all enemies of the Time Lords, silent and helpless, no words, no fight left in her. How did they ever come to this? Oh, yeah. Me."

I bit my tongue until I could taste blood. He had the audacity to call me helpless… me! I was nowhere near helpless. I was waiting, patiently biding my time. Things weren't to end well for him, no the Master would be defeated and when he was, I would gladly inflict the same torture as he had. He would meet the famed Destroyer and he'd wish for death. That was one thing I was certain about. That would be the one time I'd gladly give into the darkness that resided within me. "I just… I need you… to listen."

"No. It's my turn. Revenge! Best served hot. And this time, it's a message for Miss Jones." He smirked at me and soon there was a camera before him. "My people. Salutations on this, the eve of war. Lovely woman. But I know there's all sorts of… whispers down there, stories of a child walking the Earth, giving you hope. But I ask you… how much hope has this man got? Say hello, Gandalf. Except… he's not that old. But he's an alien, with a much greater lifespan than you stunted little apes. What if it showed?" While he turned to the Doctor, his eyes bored into mine, challenging and taunting me. He wanted me to do something, he wanted a reason to cause more pain. "What if I suspend your capacity to regenerate? All nine hundred years of your life, Doctor- what if we could see them?" His eyes still on me, he re-tuned the screwdriver and pointed it at the Doctor who began to judder. I bit down on my lip, trying to keep the cry of pain in. I had opened myself up in an attempt to pull some of his pain into me, so that I could alleviate his agony. While I had accomplished that, it was practically ineffective due to the lack of our physical connection and my lack of strength overall. "Older… and older… and older." He held the laser screwdriver closer to the Doctor, his eyes never wavering, not even with the childish glee that took them. "Down you go, Doctor. Down… down… down the years." Soon the convulsions ceased and the Doctor was no longer visible. All that was seen was dark brown suit crumpled on the floor. Throughout it all, his eyes remained on me, as taunted me, daring me to retaliate. He knew I wanted to, he knew I wanted nothing more than to disarm him, but he also knew I wouldn't, not with the threat he'd bestowed upon me when we'd come from the end of the universe. He knew I'd do just about anything to keep the people I cared about safe. "Doctor." A head slowly popped up, showing a tiny little thing with huge eyes. The Master removed his gaze from me and turned to the camera. "Received and understood, Miss Jones?"

After he had ended the transmission, he grabbed hold of me and dragged me to one of his many torture rooms. What felt like hours passed by and soon, the mad man had grown bored with his attempt so get a rise from me. The Master could spend hours carving into my body, electrocuting me, and whatever else he deemed fun, but if I remained silent, if I didn't show my pain, he took no enjoyment from it. Bidding me a bored farewell, he stepped outside and a maid entered. She hastily but gently cleaned my opened and reopened wounds. She had also given me a new set of clothes to wear, indicating to me that something was going to happen and he was going to use me as a pawn. When I was decent enough, she left, her place being taken by a guard.

As we approached the flight deck, I could hear talking. Taking an uneasy breath, I entered, seeing one of the 'Toclafane' in the room. As quick as I could, I returned to the spot I had stood just hours prior, my head down. I hated those things... what had been done to them and what they had become. "Tomorrow, we rise, never to fall."

"You see? I'm doing it for them. You should be grateful- after all, you love them… so very, very much," the Master taunted before he turned to look outside. He was silent for a while, just gazing out the window. "I took Lucy to Utopia," he said suddenly. "A Time Lord and his human companion. I took her to see the stars. Isn't that right, sweetheart?"

"Trillions of years into the future, to the end of the universe."

"Tell them what you saw."

"Dying- everything dying. The whole of creation was falling apart and I thought, there's no point, no point to anything, not ever."

"And it's all your fault," he spat. I shivered, not from fear or cold, but from anger. I was pissed and could feel a blind rage approaching. The Destroyer was itching to show herself, to show him what she could do. "You should have seen it, Doctor. Furnaces burning. The last of humanity, screaming at the dark." I bowed my head further, letting my hair cover my face as my eyes began to tear. "All that human invention that had sustained them across the eons. It all turned inwards- they cannibalised themselves…"

"We made ourselves so pretty."

"Regressing into children. But it didn't work. The universe was collapsing around them." He stopped, turning to the Doctor. "My masterpiece, Doctor- a living Tardis, strong enough to hold the paradox in place, allowing the past and the future to collide in infinite majesty."

"But you're changing history. Not just Earth, the entire universe," the Doctor rasped.

"I'm a Time Lord. I have that right."

"But even then, why come all this way just to destroy?"

"We come backwards in time all to build a brand new empire lasting one hundred trillion years," the sphere said in a giddy voice.

"With me as their master. Time Lord and humans combined. Haven't you always dreamt of that, Doctor?" He waited for a comeback but received none. "Human race- greatest monsters of them all. Night then." I waited for the Master, Lucy, and the sphere to leave before I followed. As I left the room, I felt the Doctor's eyes boring into the back of my skull as well as the faint nudge of him attempting to enter my mind. Forcibly strengthening my blocks, I continued to follow the three. Once outside the room, a guard led me back to my prison cell.

From the small corner of my cell, I could hear an excited buzz making its way through the ship. I glanced up, hearing footsteps approaching the door. As they walked passed, I let out a small breath of relief but it quickly dissipated when the cell door opened, showing an extremely blissful Master in a silk dressing gown. Something had happened and he was ready to use me. The guard with him roughly grabbed me and pulled me along as we returned to the flight deck, passing four other guards as they led someone to another cell. I glanced back, feeling some familiarity, but without seeing a face, or having enough time to truly investigate, I let it pass. Whoever it was, I hoped would be fine, that they'd survive long enough for things to be changed back.

Upon reaching the flight deck, he woke the Doctor. "Guess what." Without giving him time to answer, he left the room, leaving me with the Doctor surprisingly. Returning, he had changed into a suit and upon reaching me, he forcibly grabbed my arm and we teleported from the ship to what was considered the slave quarters. As the man walked forward, a guard took hold of my arm. "Martha! Martha Jo-o-nes! I can see you! Out you come, little girl. Come and meet your master." All was silent and no one opened their doors. "Anybody? Nobody? No? Nothing? Positions." The men with us assumed their positions. "I'll give the order unless you surrender. And just for insurance, I have Rys with me. Ask yourself… what would the Doctor do?" I let out an inaudible groan as a moment later, she exited a house. "Oh, yes!" He began to clap enthusiastically. "Oh, very well done. Good girl. He trained you well. Bag. Give me the bag." She removed the backpack and moved to hand it to him but he shook his head. "No, stay there. Just throw it." Martha tossed it at him, and with the flick of his hand he destroyed it with his laser screwdriver. "And now, good companion, your work is done." He pointed it at her.

As I steeled myself, a man ran out of the same house, gun in hand. From the instant he ran out, I that he would die. He'd most likely taken a liking to her and was trying to save her, even if it meant his life. It made me happy, and hopeful that the nightmare would soon end, that hopefully, she would find him when it was over. Then again, I also felt bad for her, especially if she had taken a liking to him as well. She had finally found someone and he was ripped from her. I hoped so much that things would change, that we could reverse the year. "No!" the man yelled and he raced in front of her.

The Master aimed at the man and shot him dead before he began to laugh. "But you, when you die, the Doctor should be witness, hmm?" He deeply inhaled. "Almost dawn, Martha… and planet Earth marches to war." A guard grabbed her and pulled her to the group. I felt the woman's gaze on me but could not meet it, especially since she was going to see just how inactive I'd been in keeping the people we both cared for safe. Soon, we were back on the fight deck. "Citizens of Earth, rejoice and observe." Martha was brought in, her family and Jack watching. The Master arrogantly stood on the stand, his hand out. "Your teleport device, in case you thought I'd forgotten." Martha tossed the vortex manipulator to him. "And now… kneel." She did as told. "Down below, the fleet is ready to launch- two hundred thousand ships, set to burn across the universe." He retreated up the stairs and pressed a button, turning on the intercom. "Are we ready?"

"The fleet awaits your signal. Rejoice!"

"Three minutes to align the black hole converters." There was a beep. "Counting down. I never could resist a ticking clock. My children! Are you ready?"

"We will fly and blaze and slice. We will fly and blaze and slice"

"At zero, to mark this day, the child Martha Jones, will die." He chuckled. "My first blood. Any last words? No? Such a disappointment, this one." He motioned to her. "Days of old, Doctor, you had companions who could absorb the time vortex. This one's useless." He aimed the laser screwdriver at her. "Bow your head. And so it falls to me, as Master of all, to establish, from this day, a new order of Time Lords. From this day forward-" he stopped when he saw Martha silently laughing. Giving me a glance, his smirk fell, seeing that I was smiling. "What- What's so funny?"

"A gun."

"What about it?"

"A gun, in four parts?"

"Yes, and I destroyed it."

"A gun, in four parts scattered across the world? I mean, come on, did you really believe that?"

"What do you mean?" the Master asked in confusion.

"As if I would ask her to kill."

"Oh well. It doesn't matter. I've got her exactly where I want her."

"No," I said, speaking for the first time that year, "She's exactly where we want her."

"I knew what Professor Docherty would do. The Resistance knew about her son. I told her about the gun, so she'd get me here at the right time."

"Oh, but you're still going to die."

"Don't you want to know what I was doing, travelling the world?"

"Tell me."

"I told a story. That's all. No weapons, just words- I did just what the Doctor said. Kiel and I went across the continents, and everywhere I went, I found the people and I told them my story. I told them about the Doctor. And I told them to pass it on, to spread the word so that everyone would know about the Doctor."

"Faith and hope, is that it?"

"No, 'cause I gave them an instruction, just as the Doctor said-" Martha then stood. "I told them that if everyone thinks of one word, at one specific time-"

"Nothing will happen! Is that your weapon- prayer?"

Martha continued on as if the Master hadn't said a thing. "Right across the world, one word, just one thought, at one moment but with fifteen satellites."

"What?"

"The Archangel Network," Jack interjected. He had a smug grin on his lips.

Martha stood. "A telepathic field binding the whole human race together, with all of them, every single person on Earth thinking the same thing at the same time. And that word is 'Doctor'." When the clock struck zero, the Doctor and his cage began to glow.

"Stop it. No, no, no, no, you don't."

"Doctor. Doctor."

"Doctor."

"Don't."

On the monitor, the people of Earth also chanted Doctor. The Master backed away. "Stop this right now. Stop it!"

"Doctor." The Master's head snapped to Lucy, the look of betrayal on his face. He didn't even hear Martha and Jack repeat the name along with the crowd below. It was as if he couldn't believe Lucy would betray him although it was obvious to everyone else why she would do so. As everyone continued to repeat his name, the Doctor slowly began to revert to his previous appearance, no longer the little creature that sat in a bird cage.

"I've had a whole year to tune myself into the psychic network and integrate with its matrices."

"I order you to stop!" Lucy and the crowd continued to chant, ignoring his cries. The Master dropped down a level, staring at the Doctor in utter shock. "The one thing you can't do. Stop them thinking." As he said that, I closed my eyes and dropped my mental barriers and thought his title. As he hovered in the air, he returned to his usual appearance. "Tell me the human race is degenerate now, when they can do this." I watched as Martha ran to her family, engulfing them in a hug.

"No!" He fired his laser screwdriver at the Doctor but with the energy field, it did nothing.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Then I'll kill her." As the Master pointed the screwdriver at me, it suddenly flew from his hand. "You can't do this. You can't do this! It's not fair!"

"And you know what happens now."

"No. No! No! No!" The Doctor floated to him, landing on the floor before the fallen man.

"You wouldn't listen."

"No!"

"Because you know what I'm going to say."

"No," the Master said as he curled into a ball in the corner. The Doctor bent down, wrapping his arms around him.

"I forgive you."

He pushed the Doctor away. "My children."

"Protect the paradox. Protect the paradox. Protect the paradox," a mass of spheres chanted.

"Captain! The paradox machine!"

"You men, with me!" Jack said to the group nearest him. "You stay here." With his orders out, he and his group took off, most likely to the paradox machine.

"No!" I heard the Doctor yell before he disappeared.

Coming out of my yearlong shell, I ran over to the window, seeing a tear in the sky. Turning away, I raced to the door. As I did so, I shouted orders. "Martha, get to the control room and keep an eye out on those spheres. I need to know how close they're getting and where their main concentration is. You men," I snapped to two guards, "who did you bring down to the cells?"

"Just a smart mouthed kid."

"Take me to him." The two nodded and waited for me to follow them. Before I left though, I turned to Marhta. "I'll be right back. I have a long overdue appointment."

"But what about the Doctor?"

I stopped and faced her, trying to keep the worry from my voice. I was worried about him, and because I hadn't opened up my barriers, I really didn't know if he was fine. "He's fine," I stated, lied, before I ran out of the room, closely following the two guards.

Reaching the cell, I snatched the key and unlocked it, entering the room immediately. Lying in a thankfully un-bloody heap was Kiel. I dropped to his side and pulled his head onto my lap. After dismissing the guards, I began to mummer little things to him, almost begging him to open his eyes. I couldn't lose him, not when I'd just gotten him back... when I had barely said a word to him. Hearing a groan, I snapped my eyes to him, relishing in the fact he was waking up, that he was alive. "Kiel…"

"Ugh, my head," Kiel said as he sat up clutching his head. "I refuse to do this again."

"Well, I don't think you'd have to."

"Is the Master dead?"

"I don't know. I came straight here after the plan worked."

"Thanks for that."

"Is this a joke though? Are you…"

He stared at me for a moment before wrapping his arms around me. "I've wanted to do this for so long," he sighed into my ear.

"I'm so sorry, Kiere," I whispered. "I shouldn't have let them take you. I should've done something."

"You tried, remember? I never blamed you… or dad." He pulled away. "Who by the way, is a major ass."

I chuckled a bit, only stopping as the ship shook. Jumping to our feet, Kiere and I ran out of the cell and made our way up to the flight deck. As the shaking increased, I grabbed Kiere and pulled him to the ground. Minutes passed before it went calm again. Standing, the two of us walked onto the deck. "The paradox's broken," I said with a small smile, my eyes catching what... who I'd been searching for.

"We've reverted back, one year and a day. Two minutes past eight in the morning." Letting go of Kiere, I raced to the Doctor, throwing myself into his arms as tears flowed freely down my cheeks. Pulling back, he placed a hungry kiss on my lips which I immediately reciprocated, pouring all of my feelings into it, wanting him to know just how sorry I was that I hadn't done anything, that I was useless. Pulling apart, he raced to the controls, taking me with him and turning on the radio.

"This is UNIT Central. What's happened up there? We just saw the President assassinated!" He turned the radio down.

"Just after the President was killed, but just before the spheres arrived. Everything back to normal. Planet Earth restored. None of it happened. The rockets, the terror- it never was."

"What about the spheres?"

"Where they belong, the end of the universe," Kiere- Kiel answered.

"But I can remember it," Francine said.

"We're at the eye of the storm, the only ones who'll ever know." He turned from her, his attention moving to Clive, Martha's father. "Oh, hello. You must be Mister Jones. We haven't actually met." I smiled a bit but it faded as I watched the Master run for the door. Luckily, Jack was entering the room and caught him.

"Whoa, big fella! You don't want to miss the party. Cuffs." The guard beside him handed Jack the desired item who in turn restrained the Master. "So, what do we do with this one?"

"We kill him," Clive said.

Tish and Francine nodded. "We execute him."

"No, that's not the solution."

"Oh, I think so. Because all those things, they still happened because of him. I saw them," Francine spat, aiming the gun at him.

"Go on. Do it," the Master egged.

I sighed and took a step towards the woman, lightly placing a hand on her shoulder. "If you do, what makes you any better than him? Sure it'll help and make you feel better, but in the end, you'll have his blood on your hands. Then it consumes you, the desire for revenge at any cost, the intent to kill without any remorse. Trust me, Francine, you don't want to do this." The woman held my gaze a little longer before she lowered the gun. I smiled at her and removed the weapon from her hand and gave it to Kiere, who placed it on a nearby table. What I had said to her, wasn't only for her sake but for mine as well. Throughout the entire ordeal, I wanted nothing more than to kill him, to let the Destroyer have her turn with him. It had infected me as it had during the war. I wasn't that girl anymore though, I had changed. I refused to fall back into that mentality, I refused to be her again.

"You still haven't answered the question. What happens to me?"

"You're our responsibility from now on. The only Time Lords left in existence."

"Yeah, but you can't trust him," Jack interjected.

"No," the Doctor agreed. "The only safe place for him is the Tardis."

"You mean you're just going to… keep me?"

"Mmm. If that's what we have to do. It's time for a change. Maybe I've been wandering for too long."

"We could use a pet," Kiere shrugged as he pushed his hair from his face.

"Kiel! That was rude," I chastised.

"It's the truth. He'd be like a rabbit or something. Locked away and all."

"No, he wouldn't. You get it from that idiot."

"What have I done? What are you talking about?" Before I could answer, there was a gunshot and the Master staggered. The Doctor quickly caught him.

"Put it down," Jack ordered Lucy. Without a word, she handed it to him. A guard moved to her side and grabbed hold of her arm. In her defence, I didn't blame Lucy at all. She had dealt with so much, lived through the same thing we had, it wasn't her fault that she wanted to kill him. I could sympathise but it wasn't right. Killing him was too easy of a sentence.

"There you go. I've got you. I've got you."

"Always the women."

"I didn't see her."

"I did," Kiere muttered under his breath. I jabbed him in the elbow. He groaned but said nothing else. He had definitely inherited a lot of his father.

"Dying in your arms. Happy now?"

"Why would he be happy about that? You were best friends," I softly stated, earning a glare from the man.

"You're not dying. Don't be stupid. It's only a bullet. Just regenerate."

"No."

"One little bullet. Come on," he begged, bringing tears to my eyes. Even though the Master did all those horrible things, he was still used to be the Doctor's friend, and was still cared about.

"I guess you don't know me so well. I refuse."

"Regenerate. Just regenerate. Please, please!"

"And spend the rest of my life imprisoned with you?"

"You've got to. Come on. It can't end like this. You and me- all the things we've done. Axons. Remember the Axons? And the Daleks? Regenerate!" he pled.

"How about that? I win." The Master was silent for a moment. "Will it stop, Doctor? The drumming- will it stop?" he asked with his dying breath.

"No!" He cried, holding the Master's body to him. I moved from Kiere to the Doctor's side, placing a hand on his shoulder. Placing the Master's body down, he pulled me to him and just held me as he cried, letting it out until he was ready to go.

Once we had left the Valiant, we made our way to an open field. The Doctor and Kiel, although against the former's wishes, made a funeral pyre. When the Master's body was on it, the Doctor set it alight and grabbed my hand. With a final look, we walked away, making our way to the Tardis. The Doctor had set her into the vortex and a while later, we found ourselves at Roald Dahl Plass again only this time, Kiere was with us. I sighed, content that I had both my boys, that I was getting a second chance to be a proper mother and wife. Looking at the trio beside me, I saw their confused expressions. "Huh?"

"Nothing. I was just saying, time was, every single one of these people knew his name. Now they've all forgotten him."

"Good."

"Back to work," Jack said as he went under the railing.

"I really don't mind, though. Come with us."

"I had plenty of time to think that past year, the year that never was, and I kept thinking about that team of mine. Like you said, Doctor- responsibility."

"Defending the Earth- can't argue with that," the Doctor said just as he took Jack's arm and exposed the vortex manipulator.

"Hey, I need that." I chuckled at him. He really must have thought he'd have been able to go on with it fixed.

"I can't have you walking around with a time travelling teleport. You could go anywhere, twice. The second time to apologise." He soniced the manipulator.

"Aww, don't worry Jack," I happily cooed. "I'll fix it up a bit. No time travelling but I'll do something."

"Oh, no you don't. You'll end up teaching him how to make it work again."

"And if he needs us?"

"He'll figure it out," the Doctor replied as he tapped my nose. I rolled my eyes and sent Jack a scheming wink.

"And what about me? Can you fix that? Will I ever be able to die?"

"Nothing I can do. You're an impossible thing, Jack."

"No, he's my impossible friend. Last I checked, Jack wasn't an object. Right, Captain?"

"Been called that before." He chuckled and walked off, abruptly turning back to us as saluting. "Sir. Ma'am. But I keep wondering- what about aging? 'Cause I can't die, but I keep getting older. The odd little grey hair, you know?" I shook my head as I laughed at him, earning an eye roll. " What happens if I live for a million years?"

"I really don't know."

"Okay, vanity. Sorry. Yeah, can't help it. Used to be a poster boy when I was a kid living on the Boeshane Peninsula- tiny little place. I was the first one ever to be signed up for the Time Agency. They were so proud of me. 'The Face of Boe', they called me. Hmm. I'll see you." I smirked at his reveal before chasing after him. "Going to fix my vortex manipulator?"

"Of course," I replied as I grabbed his wrist and fiddled with it a bit. "No time travel but you can contact me whenever you need. I even added a feature that can get you on the Tardis, no matter when we are."

"Thanks, Cerys."

"Anytime."

"I've got a question. That Kiel kid…"

"Well, he's not a kid anymore. He kind of grew up and I missed it all," I said with a sad sigh. It was horrible to think of it that way, but it was true. His older sister had been visiting us when she was taken, stolen from her own love and children. Kiel was taken as a baby. I barely had the opportunity to get to know him much. "He's older than you."

"Who is he though?"

"He's our son."

"Does the Doctor know?"

"He could but he's pretty thick," I answered with a laugh. Jack joined in, nodding in agreement.

"Well, all the best. I'll be in touch."

"You better, Harkness. Your vortex manipulator works both ways and I know I'll definitely be checking up on you, whether or not I pop in is a completely different story. Just be prepared for it." He laughed and pulled me into a hug. Releasing me, he walked away and I returned to the others.

Piling into the Tardis, the Doctor and I parked her outside Martha's mum's house. While Martha spent time with her family, I pulled the Doctor inside and closed the door. I sat him on the jump seat and pulled Kiel over. "What's going on?"

"So, what's this about you being an ass?"

"Rys, that wasn't it. You were with the Master and... and MAYBE I was a bit hard on him."

"I was being a jerk too. I mean, I wasn't much help," Kiel admitted before turning to me, an incredulous expression on his face. "Wait, were you seriously going to tell him like that?"

"Well, you obviously have my brains as well," I chuckled. "But yes, I was. Could you blame me, though? He still hasn't figured it out. Always been thick, this one."

"What are you chatting about?"

With a wide smile, I pressed my hands on his shoulders, staring intently in his beautiful brown eyes. "Congratulations, you're a dad… again."

"What?"

"I'm not repeating it."

"How?"

"Well, it's Kiere. Kiel is Kiere."

"How?"

"Turns out my essence can't go into a fob watch. Never was a 'normal' Time Lord, not with mum's genes. Anyways, the Master kidnapped me during the war. Took me with him when he ran," he explained as the Doctor stared at him.

"How?!"

I smiled. "So, would you prefer Kiel or your old nickname?"

"Kie."

"Great," I said as I clasped my hands together.

"Um, I'm going outside. I think he's about to have a fit," Kie said as he stood and left the Tardis, giving the Doctor time to process it all.

"That's Kiere?"

"Yep."

"How long have you known?"

"Figured it out right before the Master kidnapped me. I had an inkling since we met him, though."

"That explains his demeanour though."

"What do you mean?"

"Before we made it on the Valiant, he was all for jumping in and rescuing you."

"I'm sure you wanted to as well. The thing is, we're getting a second chance and I want to take it."

"Never said I didn't." I smiled and hugged him. "You don't have to feel guilty for not doing anything, Rys. I understood why you didn't."

"How did you…"

"It was eating at your mind constantly. I could hear it."

"I wanted to do something though!"

"I preferred you did nothing. He was always ruthless, even more so with you. I didn't want him to kill you."

"I didn't either but I still could have-" he cut me off with a kiss that I instantly reciprocated.

"Really guys? No scaring the companion." I rolled my eyes at Kie and pulled away. Giving Martha a smile, I went over and hugged her while the Doctor went to the console.

"Right then, off we go. The open road!" I sighed, knowing she wasn't coming with us, no matter how hopeful he was. Her family needed her and Martha was not one to leave her family in a time of need. "There is a burst of starfire right now, over the coast of Meta Sigmafolio. Oh, the sky is like… oil on water. Fancy a look? Or… back in time. We could- I don't know, Charles the Second? Henry the Eighth. I know! What about Agatha Christie? I'd love to meet Agatha Christie- bet she's brilliant." I placed a hand on his arm, sobering him from his 'enthusiasm'. "Okay."

"I just can't."

"Yeah."

"Spent all these years training to be a doctor- now I've got people to look after. They saw half the planet slaughtered and they're devastated. I can't leave them."

"'Course not. Thank you." He went and engulfed her in a hug. "Martha Jones, you saved the world."

"Yes, I did. I spent a lot of time with you, thinking I was second best, but you know what? I am good."

"Well, the fact that you thought you were second best is rubbish. Even with our rocky beginning, you were always a star, Martha."

She smiled at me and nodded. "You going to be all right?"

"Always. Yeah. I've got Rys and Kie."

"So you're going with them?"

"I just got them back. Of course I am."

"Right then. Bye." Martha kissed his cheek and gave me a hug before leaving, only to come back inside. "'Cause the thing is, it's like my friend Vicky. She lived with this bloke- student housing, there were five of them all packed in, and this bloke was called Shaun. And she loved him. She did. She completely adored him, spent all day long talking about him."

"Is this going anywhere?"

"Don't be rude," I snapped.

"Yes! 'Cause he never looked at her twice. I mean, he liked her, but that was it. And she wasted years pining after him, years of her life. 'Cause while he was around, she never looked at anyone else. And I told her- I always said to her, time and time again, I said, 'get out'. I thought I could do it, but I can't. It's always going to be you and Rys. I've known that for a long while and have grown so close to her… I don't want to feel like this, not about my friend's husband. So this is me, getting out." She tossed me her phone. "Keep that. 'Cause I'm not having you disappear. If that rings- when that rings, you'd both better come running. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Got it."

"I'll see you later." I nodded and gave her one last hug before she finally left.

* * *

_5/3/2015_

_Yep, so this chapter is definitely a lot shorter than the previous. I tried to make it just as long but I was having a bit of trouble. However, there was a point where I realised I added enough to the work and that adding more would be overkill. So yeah, that's why it's so short. Anyways, prior to uploading this chapter, I was working on another for the One Shots portion of Her Secrets. I was having a lot of fun writing it but then I really wanted to work on the end of Martha so we could finally hit Donna. But that one will be updated soon. To be honest, it probably won't be updated on a regular basis due to the fact I have to make sure it all coincides with the actual story and whatnot... which is a major pain. But it will be updated soon, that I promise. With that said, thanks to all who favourited, followed, and reviewed. I love getting those emails and I appreciate all of you. It seriously keeps me wanted to update. Now then, off to the reviews._

_** I'm-a-Klaus-addict:** Long time no talk. Hope all's well. I hope your guess was proven right or wrong. Thanks. I've had it for so long that it was a sad moment to let it go. I did however take it apart so I have the motherboard, the memory chips and other parts I could keep in memory of it. Wait, what new thing about the dress? o.0 _

_Takara Matsudaira: So glad you liked the change of view and that it wasn't confusing. I tried to make it easier I can understand how it could be a bit difficult. One thing that always worked with me is remembering that each character has their own voice and speech pattern. Don't know if you wanted to hear(read) that, but I figured I'd share it with you. But thanks so much. I had so much fun writing from Kiel's perspective. He has a rougher exterior than the two combined so it was interesting to basically have Nine in the body of a 'kid'. So yeah, different voices for everyone and Kiel's was the most fun. Heck, when it gets to future chapters, he's so amazing... or at least I have him saying things I think is amazing. I can't wait to hear about your idea. I'm sure it's going to be amazing :)_

_**tardiscompanion101:** Thanks. I'm glad you were able to figure it out. I was trying to make it obvious without being completely out there with it and giving the mystery away. Thanks. One of the things I try to do is keep everyone cannon. It's a pet peeve of mine when characters don't match up to how I know them... I know it's fanfiction but idk... I'm a bit weird about it. It doesn't stop me from reading a good story though. Hope you enjoyed getting into Rys' head in this chapter. There was a bit of her personality added to give you guys a bit more to her character. _

_**NicoleR85:** Yay. I will say I didn't go into too much detail about what the Master's done to her but I hope it was pretty obvious it was nothing pretty. _

_**Squidtastik:** Thanks. As I think I said in the previous A/N, it won't happen too often, but it was refreshing to write from a perspective other than Rys'. Glad you liked it though. _

_P.S: And can I just say, from the previous chapter, my favourite line is when Kiel tells the Doctor he wouldn't be an enemy, just a disappointment. I don't know, that line seriously got to me when I was writing it. Just felt like sharing that. Oh, I'll be giving you guys a sneak peek into an upcoming chapter in the next one. I think you guys will enjoy it_. Oh, and yes, we are back to Rys' POV.


	56. Time Crash

Once the door had closed, the Doctor pulled on a lever, sending the Tardis into the vortex. We had both decided to rest for a bit, recover after the events that had passed. I'd gone to sit on the jump seat, my thoughts erratic but focused at the same time. I was thinking about Martha. I felt the Doctor's gaze on me, most likely wondering why I had blocked my thoughts. I ignored him and continued my thinking., even though I was slightly distracted. While she wasn't my companion, she had become a friend. Sure, the beginning was slightly turbulent, but I could understand why and after a bit of explaining, she had become dear to me. And while she was nothing like Rose, she added her own flair to the Tardis; no one could deny that.

As I came to the realisation, an alarm began to blare and the Tardis violently spun, throwing us to our feet. When things had calmed a bit, I stood and looked around for a moment before something... rather someone caught my eye. Hearing footsteps, I turned to the corridor and saw Kie running towards the console room. Before he had made it though, I had rushed to him and dragged him around the corner. Although he tried to protest, he soon stopped when I pointed out the fifth incarnation of his father. I couldn't help but smile as I saw that version of him. It had been so long since she'd seen that incarnation but it brought back so many fond memories... and some bad but nonetheless, it made her happy to see that incarnation again. He was quite dapper in his cricket attire, not that the others weren't in their desired attire. I couldn't help but smirk as I heard my husband speaking with the Tardis.

"Ah, stop it! What was all that about, eh? Eh? What's your problem?"

"Right, just settle down now." I had to stifle a giggle as the two bumped into each other. His fifth barely turned as he offered his apology. "So sorry." They quickly faced each other, neither moving as they seemed to examine the other.

"What?"

"What?"

"What!"

"Who are you?"

"Oh, brilliant. I mean, totally wrong. Bit emergency, universe goes bang in five minutes but, brilliant." While I wanted to say something to the- my idiot husband as he rambled on, I refused. I didn't know if our mental bond would cross over to his previous incarnation and then create a paradox. That would be terrible, and make things so much worse. I did however want for him to know that I was there, that I'd always be with him. However, the time had not yet come for my reveal.

"I'm the Doctor. Who are you?"

"Yes, you are. You are the Doctor."

"Yes, I am. I'm the Doctor." I turned to see Kie face palm, embarrassed by his father's stupidity. I myself gave a small sigh but I was also aware that there was some happiness in seeing his younger self, no matter how grumpy he was. .

"Oh, good for you, Doctor. Good for brilliant old you."

"Is there something wrong with you?" In our little corner, Kie and I shared a glance, and shortly nodded, even though we both knew neither man could see us. It did nothing to stop us though. We each knew there were some quirks that caused others found odd and unnerving. It was part of his charm; it made him all the more lovable. His fifth incarnation, however frowned, not at all amused with his successor's shenanigans.

"Oh, there it goes, the frowny face. I remember that one." He placed his hands over his previous incarnation's cheeks, moving them up and down. "Mind you, bit saggier than I ought to be. Hair's a bit greyer. That's because of me, though." When the Doctor pulled his hand away from his hair and worked the console, his poor fifth incarnation immediately brought his hands to his face, trying to assess what his successor had said. "The two of us together has shorted out the time differential. Should all snap back in place when we get you home. Be able to close that coat again." I rolled my eyes at the obvious insult. I doubted he even knew that'd left his mouth. "But never mind that. Look at you! The coat, the crickety cricket stuff… the stick of celery. Yeah. Brave choice, celery, but fair play to you. Not a lot of men can carry off a decorative vegetable."

"Shut up!" He snatched his hat from his head. "There is something very wrong with my Tardis, and I've got to do something about it very, very quickly, and it would help, it really would help if there wasn't some skinny idiot ranting in my face about every single think that happens to be in front of him!" With that, I lost the little control I had and barked out a laugh as the Doctor sheepishly apologised to himself. Kie shot me a glance and chook his head, knowing I had just given myself away. "Who's there?"

Since I could no longer hide, I mouthed for Kie to stay put before I pulled on my bracelet. While it could no longer carried my essence, the perception filter was fully functional and would be enough to make the man believe I was human. Putting up my blocks as an extra precaution, I stepped out of my hiding spot, a sheepish smile on my lips. "Hello. Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. It's just, there hasn't really been anyone to tell him off like that… well besides me."

"And you are?"

"Marion Smith. It's a pleasure to meet you, Doctor. This idiot's told me all about you. You're amazing. Ignore what he said, like the suit. You pull off a decorative vegetable just fine."

"Thank you." His fifth incarnation gave me a small smile and turned to the console.

As he did that, the Doctor playfully pushed me, and I quickly returned the assault and gave him a "glare of death" as Martha called it. Instead of being intimidated, which he never really was, he placed a quick kiss atop my head. In doing that, I glanced up and pointed up to the back of his fifth self's head, seeing the bald patch he was sporting. I watched as he immediately sobered up, chuckling as he did. "Oh, the back of my head."

"What?"

"Sorry, sorry. It's not something you see every day, is it, the back of your own head. Mind you, I can see why you wear a hat." I rolled my eyes. "I don't want to seem vain, but could you keep that on?" I slapped the bumbling idiot on this stomach for being rude. I was pretty sure his fifth incarnation took some offence and seemed glad I had struck him.

"What have you done to my Tardis?" He looked around. "You've changed the desktop theme, haven't you? What's this one, coral?"

"Well…"

"It's worse than the leopard skin."

"Leopard skin?" I questioned as the Fifth Doctor put on his half-moon spectacles.

"Oh, and out they come, the brainy specs. You don't even need them. You just think they make you look a bit clever."

"Still does," I muttered before another alarm went off. I glanced around, knowing my idiot had just been stalling. Unfortunately, his predecessor did not. "That's an alert." Thanks Captain Obvious. "Level five, indicating a temporal collision. It like two Tardises have merged, but there's definitely only one Tardis present." My Doctor walked around the console leaning on it as he watched himself. "It's like two time zones or more at the heart of the Tardis. That's a paradox that could blow a hole in the space time continuum the size of. Well, actually, the exact size of…" The Doctor pushed the monitor to his fifth self. "…Belgium. That's a bit undramatic, isn't it? Belgium?"

"Need this?" the Doctor asked as he offered up his sonic, trying to give the man an oblivious clue.

As usual, and as he'd always been, the previous incarnation was oblivious. "No, I'm fine."

"Oh no, of course, you liked to go hands free, didn't you? Like hey, 'I'm the Doctor. I can save the universe using a kettle and some string. And look at me, I'm wearing a vegetable'." I rolled my eyes at the skinny idiot beside me.

"Who are you?"

"Take a look?"

"Oh. Oh no," the man sighed in horror.

"Oh yes."

"You're… oh no."

"Here it comes." Ten said excitedly. "Yeah, I am."

"A fan."

"Yeah," the Doctor immediately said before he finally realised what his fifth incarnation had said. "What?"

"This is bad. Two minutes to Belgium."

"What do you mean, a fan? I'm not just a fan, I'm you!" I slightly glanced back to see Kie face palm again from the corner as I clutched my stomach, trying to keep myself from falling over in laughter. This was hilarious. If only there could be a time when all his incarnations got together. Then again. that would be more of a headache than fun, especially with their egos. I'd probably end up locking myself and Kie away in fear for their safety.

"Wow, this is rich. I should record this for future companions. They'd love to see it." Ten nudged me, not at all appreciating my input. It was true though, hell, I was even thinking of calling up Martha and Jack to tell them about the encounter. I was sure they'd have a right laugh.

"Okay, you're my biggest fan. Look, it's perfectly understandable. I go zooming around space and time, saving planets, fighting monsters and being well, let's be honest, pretty sort of marvellous, so naturally now and then people notice me. Start up their little groups. That LINDA lot. Are you one of them? How did you get in here? Can't have you lot knowing where I live."

"Wow, I can honestly say that I'm glad your ego has deflated a bit. This would have been unmanageable. Trust me, you would have been tied to a post somewhere," I managed to get out, jabbing a finger into my Doctor's middle. He swatted my had away, annoyed with how the conversation had gone. "Wait, is LINDA your fan club? Oh my gosh, you have a fan club!" Before I could say anything else, the skinny one covered my mouth with his hand.

"Listen to me. I'm you, I'm you. I'm you with a new face. Check out this bone structure, Doctor, because one day you're going to be shaving it." The cloister bell tolled.

"The cloister bell!"

"Yeah, right on time. That's my cue." Soon, the both of them are throwing control levers as I watched, highly amused. No matter what incarnation it was, the Doctors always had most of his original traits. It was one thing I loved most about his regenerations. They were never too far off from the man I'd fallen in love with.

"In a minute we're going to create a black hole strong enough to swallow the entire universe!"

"Yeah, that's my fault, actually. I was rebuilding the Tardis, forgot to put the shields back up. Your Tardis and my Tardis, well the same Tardis at different points in its own time stream collided and whoo, there you go, end of the universe, butterfingers. But don't worry, I know exactly how this all works out. Watch." Ten began to make his way around the controls. "Venting the thermobuffer, drawing the Helmic regulator, and just to finish off, let's fry those Zeiton crystals."

"You'll blow up the Tardis."

"No, I won't. I haven't."

"Who told you that?"

"You told me that," the Doctor said as he took my hand, a moment before the room whited out, only for it to fade.

"Supernova and black hole at the exact same instant."

"They cancel each other out."

"Pressure remains constant."

"It's brilliant."

"Far too brilliant. I've never met anyone else who could fly the Tardis like that."

"Sorry, mate, you still haven't." I slapped the Doctor again for that comment. The man knew damn well I could fly the Tardis better than him, even with my absence. Hell, I'd passed the exam. I glanced up to see the Fifth Doctor suspiciously glancing between us. "I mean, won't, not for a very long while."

"You didn't have time to work all that out. Even I couldn't do it."

"I didn't work it out. I didn't have to."

Realisation dawned upon the young Time Lord. "You remembered."

"Because you will remember."

"You remembered being me watching you doing that. You already knew what to do because… I saw you do it."

"Wibbly wobbly-"

"Not this again," I muttered. Unfortunately it fell on deaf ears.

"Timey wimey!" The Doctor moved to give himself a high five but was ultimately left hanging. His fifth incarnation just stared at him, unamused. "Right, Tardises are separating. Sorry, Doctor, time's up. Back to long ago. Where are you now? Nyssa and Tegan? Cybermen and Mara and Time Lords in funny hats and the Master? Oh, he just showed up again. Same as ever."

"Oh no, really? Does he still have that rubbish beard?"

"No, no beard this time. Well, a wife."

His fifth self began to fade. "Oh. I seem to be off. What can I say? Thank you, Doctor."

"Thank you."

"I'm very welcome." As the Fifth Doctor vanished, the Doctor flipped a few switches and brought him back, the younger man's hat in his hands.

"You know, I love being you. Back when I first started at the very beginning, I was always trying to be old and grumpy and important, like you do when you're young. And then I was you. It was all dashing about and playing cricket and my voice going all squeaky when I shouted. I still do that, the voice thing. I got that from you." His predecessor put on his hat, and we both watched as the current Doctor placed his foot on the dash. "Oh, and the trainers, and…" he put his specs on, "snap. Because you know what, Doctor? You were my Doctor."

Smiling, I walked up to him, placing a light kiss on his cheek. "It was a pleasure to see you again," I smiled before removing the bracelet. The expression on his fifth self's face said it all. The man was beaming. As I moved away, he gripped my hand and pulled me back to him, embracing my form. He kissed the top of my head before whispering something that brought tears to my eyes. Five then released his hold on me and I stepped back.

He tipped his hat, the smile never leaving his face. "To days to come."

"All my love to long ago." I smiled and reached onto my toes, and removed Ten's glasses, giving him a kiss on the cheek as his previous self vanished for the second and final time.

"Oh, Doctor, remember to put your shields up, and take care of our lovely Ame Soeur." As that was said, the Doctor pressed a button on the console and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me to him. .

Kie joined us a moment later, desperately trying to keep his laughter controlled. Before I could say anything to him, there was the blast of a ship's horn and a prow crashed into the console room not a second later. The force of the collision sent the three of us to the floor, me hitting my head incredibly hard on the grated surface. Groaning, I sat up and scanned around the room, seeing the bow of a ship impaling our beloved Tardis. Clutching my head a bit, I glanced at Kie to see he was back on his feet and staring at the ship, same as his father when I finally found him, sitting on the floor a foot or so away from me. What?" the man asked in disbelief. "What!" He picked up a lifebelt and stared at it, before turning it to us where I could make out the word "Titanic" in bold block letters. "What?"

* * *

_13/31/2015_

_Yay, so another chapter down. I LOVED writing this one because I am adore Five. There's just so much about him that's amazing and he can pull off a decorative veggie wonderfully. I have to say, I am so happy with the following this story has gotten. It literally makes my day to get alerts telling me about reviews, followers, and favourites. Honestly, while I am writing the story for me, seeing those alerts definitely make me want to update a lot more. I am soooooo very sorry it took weeks for me to update. I've been under so much stress lately that the only time I'm on my computer is when I have to do homework (5 papers a week all due on the same day 8 am Wednesday). Luckily though, I'm on spring break and have time to write. That being said, I'm going to try to update at least twice during this week. With that said, thanks so much for all the reviews, favourites, and follows. It means a lot that you guys have stayed with the story. Now, onto the reviews. _

_**I'm-a-Klaus-addict:** Ah, gotcha. _

_**NicoleR85:** So glad you enjoyed the chapter. Two more chapters before we hit one of our favourite gings. _

_**Takara Matsudaria:** Yep, he sure is. I will say that some things will change and some won't. It all depends on the episode. I really wanted to give them something else to fight for, if that makes sense and Kiel plays a major part in the rest of the story. I definitely got your PM and I will be replying in a bit. As I said before, I've been a bit stressed so sorry for not replying sooner. _

_**Ronin Kenshin:** Thanks. Glad you've enjoyed it so far. _

_**PhoenixTheTimelady:** Oh my gosh thanks so much. I'm so happy you enjoyed it. I had to do a quick double take when I saw your review because I had just started to read your fic **The Universe Challenge**. It's such a good story. But __**Her Secrets** is now updated :)_

_**margie-me:** Yeah, Kiel does accuse the Doctor of being an ass but he also admits that he wasn't any better. As for his anger, I think if anyone were put in that situation it might__ have the same outcome. He just got both his parents back only for one to be kidnapped and for the most part tortured. He is angry, not only at the situation but at the Doctor as well. I personally don't think it was misdirected but that's just my opinion. And maybe he doesn't have all the facts but at the same time, when a person is angry, the facts don't matter. But I totally appreciate hearing your opinion and was by no means arguing if it comes off that way. Trust me, I love hearing your thoughts. But yeah, Kiel is their son and the Doctor was unaware of it during the last two (three) chapters. Kiel has his own perception filter so that helped a bit. The rest will be explained in later chapters. _

_**tardiscompanion101:** Glad you loved it and no worries. It took me forever to post this one. Donna is coming up in just a bit. _


	57. Voyage of the Damned

Jumping to my feet, I wasted no time getting to the console to rectify what had recently occurred. As I did so, the Tardis walls began to reform, pushing the ship that had forced its way in out and reasserting itself. When that was sorted, I landed the Tardis inside the ship. Taking a step out, I saw I had parked her beside a board that listed shipping companies. Glancing around, I heard the blare of the fog horn but thought nothing of it; it was a familiar occurrence on a ship. The Doctor and Kie tried to follow me but I instantly pushed them back inside, wanting to look around myself before anything. While I had initially felt something was wrong, I could see nothing on the surface. Deeming the immediate area safe enough, I returned to our beloved ship and grabbed my boys, at least letting them get a glimpse of their new surroundings.

Around us were people in Edwardian dress enjoying a champagne buffet in the reception area. On stage, a band played an extremely slow and boring version of Jingle Bells and around the room stood golden skinned angel statues. I barely paid any mind as one moved while we walked past. Kie's attention seemed to be on a small red-skinned alien in a dinner jacket. As he walked off, the Doctor and I made our way to the window. The view before us was that of Earth and it looked so beautiful. "Right."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Doctor, what is it?" I asked, making the man face me.

"He's alive. After everything, Kie's alive."

"There are always miracles within the Universe. Sometimes just it takes a while for them to be revealed."

"I suppose."

"Attention all passengers. The Titanic is now in orbit above Sol Three, also known as 'Earth'. Population- Human. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Christmas." As the tannoy ended, I took the Doctor's hand and dragged him towards Kie. Grabbing my son's arm, I pulled the two back to the Tardis.

When I informed my husband and son that they were to change into more appropriate clothes, both grumbled but the Doctor had gone off to get dressed. Kie was more of a challenge. He had inherited both the Doctor and my dislike to formal attire but after a while, he had gone off to change as well. Content, I went to change as well, opting for a mid-thigh length dress and combat shoes. I had thrown the Doctor's old leather jacket on as well before putting my hair up into a messy bun.

Meeting the boys in the console room, I grimaced, seeing the Doctor in his black tux again. Kie on the other hand had chosen to just change his shirt to a white button down, left untucked. Sighing, I led the two back outside and to a large reception area. Meandering around, the singer crooned a slow rendition of Winter Wonderland. I had taken hold of his arm as we looked around, noticing the stares the Doctor'd been receiving from the other women in the room. While Kie chuckled, I found no amusement in my husband being leered at. As we moved past a steward, he offered us a "Merry Christmas" that the Doctor happily replied to. I smiled at the man before pulling the Doctor to the dance floor. While I enjoyed the dance, the Doctor still had two left feet so after a few songs, we hastily made our way off the floor. Instead, we went to mingle, something Kie had been doing for most of the night.

As we spoke to one group, a man passed by us, speaking on his mobile device. "It's not a holiday for me, not while I've still got my vone. Now, do as I say and sell."

I sighed and shook my head, catching the Doctor's attention. "Some people just don't know when to rest. He's practically Scrooge."

The Doctor chuckled and led me towards one of the angels. As we stood before it, I couldn't help but feel wary of the robot. It was another one of my feelings and like most, it was unwelcomed… even if I had felt it the moment we landed. The Doctor on the other hand, was oblivious to my feeling, his curiosity and thirst for knowledge taking the wheel. "Evening. Passengers fifty seven and fifty eight. Terrible memory. Remind me- you would be…"

"Information- heavenly Host, supplying tourist information."

"Good, so, tell me- 'cause I'm an idiot- where are we from?"

"Information- the Titanic is en route from the planet Sto in the Cassavalian Belt. The purpose of the cruise is to experience primitive cultures."

I cocked my head to the side, confused. "Who thought of the name, Titanic?"

"Information- it was chosen as the most famous vessel of the planet Earth."

"Obviously the person didn't have much knowledge as to what happened to the ship," I muttered. "Do you know why it's famous?"

"Information- all designations are chosen by Mister Max Capricorn, president of Max, Max, Max-" The host began to twitch and the pitch of its voice rose considerably. As the Doctor reached for his sonic, the Steward rushed over, noticing the hiccup.

"Ooo, bit of a glitch."

"It's all right, sir, ma'am. We can handle this." Two more officers rushed over and switched off the Host before carrying it away. "Software problem- that's all. Leave it with us, sir. Merry Christmas." The steward began to help the others, muttering to them, "That's another one down. What's going on with these things?" Raising an eyebrow, I stored what he said away before the Doctor and I continued on.

Instead of doing anything troublesome, the Doctor and I stood by the stage, silently observing the room. From our spot, I could easily make out Kie speaking with a young woman, a drink in his hand. I couldn't help but smile as I watched him act so much like his father, such a ladies man. I smiled, glancing up at the Doctor for a moment before looking away, a wave of guilt washing over me. While I had been in my original state for almost two years, I had yet to be fully honest with him. There was so much I was hiding, mainly out of fear and shame. Yet, I knew not telling him would cause more pain and possibly anger in the end. I wasn't really ready to tell him though. Maybe it was the fact that we had just reunited or that Kie had actually lived, but the thought of revealing what truly transpired on Gallifrey, what the council and Rassilon had done, sent shivers down my spine. Sighing, I left my thoughts as I heard the crash of glass breaking.

"For Tov's sake, look where you're going. This jacket's a genuine Earth antique." As the man said that, I stormed over. It was the same man who had been speaking on his vone when we first touched down.

"I'm sorry, sir."

"You'll be sorry when it comes off your wages, sweetheart. Staffed by idiots- no wonder Max Capricorn's going down the drain."

"Excuse me but if that's a genuine Earth antique you're wearing, you should probably speak to the person you purchased it from," I snapped. The man stared at me flabbergasted before storming off. Smiling at the woman, I bent down to help her clean, placing the broken glass onto her tray. "Here you go."

"Thank you, ma'am. I can manage."

"Never said you couldn't." I stood. "I'm Rys, by the way."

"Astrid, ma'am- Astrid Peth."

"Just Rys, please. It's a pleasure to meet you, Astrid." As I said that, I felt a hand wrap around my waist. "He's the Doctor."

"Nice to meet you, Astrid Peth. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, sir."

He grimaced. He never did being liked called 'sir'. "Just 'Doctor', not 'sir'."

"You enjoying the cruise?"

"Yeah, I suppose. Well, it's supposed to be a family trip."

"Our son's wandering around somewhere," I told her as I stood, looking around to see if I could find him in the crowd. When I did, I returned my gaze to her. "You're a long way from Planet Sto."

"Doesn't feel that different." She shrugged. "I spent three years working at the spaceport diner, travel all the way here, and I'm still waiting on tables."

"No shore leave?" the Doctor questioned.

"We're not allowed. They can't afford the insurance. I just wanted to try it, just once. I used to watch the ships heading out to the stars and I always dreamt of- it sounds daft."

"You dreamt of another sky- new sun… new air, new life… a whole universe teeming with life." The Doctor deeply inhaled. "Why stand still when there're all that life out there?"

"So, you travel a lot?"

"All the time, just for fun. Well, that's the plan. Never quite works."

"That's because trouble always seems to find you."

"Must be rich, though."

The Doctor leant in to whisper in Astrid's ear. "Haven't got a penny. Stowaways."

"Kidding."

"Nope."

"No."

"Oh, yeah."

"How did you get on board?"

"Accident- I- we've got this, sort of, ship thing. Rys was just rebuilding her, left the defences down, bumped into the Titanic- here we are. Bit of a party. I thought, 'why not'?" I cleared my throat. "Rys thought it would be nice."

"I should report you."

"Go on, then."

"I'll get you a drink… on the house." Astrid winked at us before walking back to the bar.

Not a moment after she was gone, we heard loud, obnoxious laughter. Glancing around, I could help but notice a table filled with toff pointing and laughing at a rather large couple dressed in purple cowboy attire. Frowning, I led the Doctor to their table. I gave the pair a smile and took a seat, the Doctor doing so as well. "Something's tickled them."

"They told us it was fancy dress. Very funny, I'm sure."

"They're just picking on us because we haven't paid. We won our tickets in a competition."

"I had to name the five husbands of Joofie Crystalle in 'By the Light of the Asteroid'. Did you ever watch 'By the Light of the Asteroid'?"

I cocked my head to the side, not recognising the name although from the sound of it, the thing sounded like a soap opera; I never truly cared for them. They were always dull to me, especially with the route my life had taken. "Is that the one with the twins?" I glanced at the Doctor, my eyebrows raised. While I knew he dabbled in just about everything, the fact he watched a day time drama seemed to shock me for some odd reason.

"That's it," the woman remarked excitedly. "Oh, it's marvellous."

"But we're not good enough for that lot. They think we should be in steerage."

I casted a sideways glance to the group before squeezing the Doctor's hand under the table. "Well, can't have that, can we?" He reached into his tuxedo and discreetly aimed the sonic screwdriver at the champagne bottle. Within a moment, the cork popped out and sprayed their expensive clothes with alcohol. As it did so, they cried out in shock.

"Did- Did you do that?" the woman questioned.

"Maybe."

Both laughed, the man clapping his hands as he did so. "We like you." I smiled at them, feeling the same way about the couple.

"We do. I'm Morvin Van Hoff. This is my good woman, Foon."

"Foon. Hello, I'm the Doctor. This is my wife, Rys."

"Hello. It's very nice to meet you."

"Oh, I'm going to need a doctor, time I've finished with that buffet. Have a buffalo wing." The Doctor nodded and grabbed one. The woman gestured for me to take one but I politely declined, not really wanting or craving the food. There was a twist in my stomach, that something was to go wrong soon. "They must be enormous- these buffalo- so many wings." I smiled at her, not wanting to correct her in her happiness.

"Attention please. Shore leave tickets Red Six Seven now activated Red Six Seven."

The pair rummaged through their pockets before pulling out a red ticket. "Red Six Seven. That's us. Are you Red Six Seven?"

"Might as well be."

"Maybe we should get Kie…"

"No need. I'm right here." I turned to see our son standing behind us, smirking at his father. "Nice trick with the toffs."

The Doctor and I shared a conspiratory smile before he shrugged. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

I rolled my eyes at the boys, content to have them both with me. It had been so long since we'd been together and while I was ecstatic to have them both with me, I only wished SHE were here as well, that SHE'D escaped the Time War. Pushing away those thoughts, I smiled at the two before us. "Foon, Morvin, this is our son, Kie."

"Pleasure to meet you," he said with a slight nod of the head. "So, what's this about shore leave?" I beamed, content he had at least some manners and decorum when meeting new people.

"Right, come on then. We're going to Earth." Smiling after our newfound friends, we walked up to the podium where a man held up a red sign.

"Red Six Seven. Red Six Seven. This way, fast as you can."

"I got you that drink," Astrid said as she reached us. I smiled at her and took the tray, placing it on a nearby table.

"And we've got you a treat. Come on."

"Red Six Seven departing shortly."

The Doctor reached into the jacket and pulled out his psychic paper. "Red Six Seven, plus three."

"Quickly, sir, please, and take your teleport bracelets if you would." He walked up and grabbed the four, handing them out as he returned to us.

Astrid glanced at him, her eyes wide. "I'll get the sack."

"Who cares? It's a brand new sky," Kie quibbled, smirking at the woman, who shyly returned the smile. I couldn't help the smile that formed as I watched the two. It seemed that he had taken quite a liking to her, something that I had no problem with. Younger Kie was always quick to discern whether someone was trustworthy or not, and the fact he had warmed up to Astrid so quickly definitely proved, at least to me, that she was worth keeping around. I grabbed onto the Doctor's arm, smiling up at him. While I was still a bit hesitant to be on the ship, it was nice to at least consider it a fun family vacation, especially after the year that never was, and the loss of Martha.

"To repeat- I am Mister Copper, the ship's historian, and I shall be taking you to old London town in the country of UK, ruled over by good King Wenceslas. Now, human beings worship the great god Santa- a creature with fearsome claws- and his wife Mary." As he spoke, I furrowed my eyebrows- nothing the man said made sense. "And every Christmas Eve, the people of UK go to war with the country of Turkey. They then eat the Turkey people for Christmas dinner, like savages."

The three of us, the Doctor, Kie, and I, exchanged confused glances as the man spoke. Finally seeming to have enough, the Doctor stepped forward, his hand slightly raised. "Excuse me. Sorry, sorry, but, um, where did you get all this from?"

"Well, I have a first class degree in Earthonomics. Now, stand by." As he said that, a spikey little red alien ran up to the podium, squeezing pass everyone else.

"And me! And me! Red Six Seven."

"Well, take a bracelet, please, sir."

"But, um, hold on, hold on." The little alien faced the Doctor. "What was your name?"

"Bannakaffalatta."

"Okay, Bannakaffalatta. But it's Christmas Eve down there- late night shopping, tons of people. He's like a talking conker. No offence," although he said that, Bannakaffalatta looked incredibly offended, "but you'll cause a riot, 'cause the streets are going to be packed with shoppers and parties and- and-" before he could finish, we were teleported to a deserted shopping street. "Oh." The Doctor, Kie, and I looked around, confused as to why and how the streets could be so empty. As his father had said, it was Christmas Eve, people would- SHOULD- be out doing last minute shopping or out at the pub or making their way to see family. Seeing the streets deserted was, well, weird.

"Now, spending money- I have a credit card in Earth currency if you want to by trinkets, or, uh stockings, or the local delicacy, which is known as 'beef'. But don't stray too far, it could be dangerous. Any day now, they start boxing."

"Very good, vey good," Bannakaffalatta remarked, his lips curled in a small smile.

I glanced down at the little red alien, not understanding why he found it so good. Rolling my eyes, I pushed that to the back of my mind, knowing that was nothing of importance. The people around us were basically on vacation, at least for the most part, they were examining a 'primitive' species at most. "It should be full. It should be busy. Something's wrong," the Doctor commented, feeling the same as I did.

"But it's beautiful."

"Think so?" Kie questioned, his eyes wide with shock as he gave Astrid his attention. I could understand why he didn't really see any beauty in it, but for someone who hadn't been anywhere but Sto, I could see why she found it beautiful. "It's just a street, nothing special. If you want beautiful, try the pyramids or New Zealand."

Astrid turned to him, a smile on her face. I was happy she was so excited, that it really was atreat for her. "But it's a different planet. I'm standing on a different planet. T-There's concrete and- and shops- alien shops- real alien shops!" She did a little twirl before pointing up. "Look, no stars in the sky." She took a deep breath, eyes closed as she did so. "And it smells. It stinks! Oh, this is amazing! Thank you!" Excited she hugged the three of us.

"Yeah? Come on then," the Doctor started, taking my hand. "Let's have a look."

Glancing around, I noticed a newsstand with a man in a red hat with what looked to be mistletoe attached to it sitting inside. Leaving Kie and Astrid to explore, I led, well… dragging the Doctor along, to it. Reaching, I saw a Union Flag behind him as he watched the telly. Beside the stand, I noticed a billboard that stated that London was deserted. Scrunching my eyebrows, I wondered what exactly would leave the place desolate. Reaching the man, I put on a smile and waved, startling him a bit. "Hi."

"Hello. What can I do for you?"

"Well, we were wondering where'd everyone go?"

"Oh ho, scared."

"Right, yes." The Doctor quickly glanced around. "Scared of what?"

"Where've you've been living?" the old man scoffed. "London at Christmas- not safe, is it."

"And why's that?"

"Well, it's them, up above. Look, Christmas before last we had that big, bloody spaceship, everyone standing on a roof." I looked away, remembering that Christmas. It wasn't much of a happy memory. "And then last year, that Christmas Star, electrocuting all over the place, draining the Thames."

"The Thames?" I questioned, confused before I shot an accusing glance to the Doctor, knowing he most likely had a hand in it. From his sheepish expression, I knew he was. Shaking my head, I made a mental note to question him about that. Before I could ask another question, Astrid and Kie joined us.

"This place is amazing."

The man gave her a wiry smile before continuing on. "And this year, Lord knows what. So, everybody's scarpered. Gone to the country- all except me and Her Majesty." I nodded at the man, turning my attention to the television.

"Her Majesty the Queen has confirmed that she'll be staying in Buckingham Palace throughout the festive season to show the people of London, and the world, that there's nothing to fear."

"God bless her. We stand vigil," the older gentleman commented, saluting the screen.

"Well, between you and me, I think her Majesty's got it right. Far as I know, this year, nothing to worry about." Just as he finished his statement, we were teleported back to the ship, the Doctor as he was speaking. "I was in mid-sentence." I chuckled and rolled my eyes.

"Yes, I'm sorry about that. Uh, a bit of a problem." Mr Copper stepped down from the podium. If I could have your bracelets…"

As we removed the teleport bracelets, two stewards joined us. Not to get caught, Astrid hid behind Kie and the Doctor. "Apologies, ladies and gentlemen, and Bannakaffalatta. Uh, we seem to have suffered a power fluctuation. If you'd like to return to the festivities… and on behalf of Max Capricorn Cruise liners, free drinks will be provided."

"Thank you," Foon graciously told the steward as he walked past. When was gone, Astrid left her hiding spot.

"That was the best," she said, hugging us again. "The best!" I smiled at her as she ran back to work. I was happy we could make her day, even if it was just for a bit.

The Doctor, while I know he had heard her, walked up to the stewards, holding up the bracelets. "What sort of power fluctuation?" I cocked my head to the side, waiting for an answer that never came. We were just told not to worry about it, something that did nothing but pique our interest even more. Sighing as they walked away, the Doctor, Kie, and I walked off, the three of us standing near a table as we examined our surroundings. I couldn't help but notice the glances Astrid and Kie shot to each other as she worked. Grinning, I nudged the boy, earning a half-hearted scowl in return.

Taking my attention from the two, it settled on a gold framed video of a bald man with an extremely thin moustache and blue eyes. Supressing a shiver, I made my way towards it, leaving the boys to follow. When they had joined me, I reached into the Doctor's coat pocket and removed the sonic screwdriver and used it to unfasten the frame to get to the wiring. Returning it back to his pocket, I began to rewire the system, pulling up an image of the ship's status and seeing that the shields were offline. From the corner of my eye, I saw the two move over to the nearest porthole. The Doctor opened his mind to me, showing the three meteors that were heading straight to the ship. Opening the communication system, I called up to the bridge. "Where's the captain? Does he know there's a storm coming in?"

The Doctor joined me, speaking to the man and telling him the position of the storm. "West zero by north two."

"Who is this?"

"Never mind that, your shields are down! Check your scanners, Captain. You've got meteoroids coming in and no shielding."

"You have no authorisation. You will clear the comms at once."

"Oh for goodness sake, you moron, look starboard!" I angrily spat. Only an idiot would ignore a threat of danger, and with the amount of loss that would occur, it was best to handle it as quickly as possible. There was no need for people to die. The captain, however, seemed to take no heed to us and instead, from the corner of my eye I saw a steward approach us.

"Come with us please," a steward lowly ordered as he joined us. He seemed to want to make as less od a fuss as he possibly could. Just as he went to grab me, Kie's hand reached out, swiftly taking hold of it. The man grimaced in pain as Kie bent his hand back, almost snapping it before I stopped him. Surly I appreciated it, but there was no need to break the man's hand when he hadn't laid a finger on me. Two other stewards joined us, each grabbing hold of Kie.

"Get off of him, this instant." Instead of listening to me, he and the Doctor were dragged away, leaving me to follow. They seemed to not want to deal with the wrath of either of my boys so no one dared touch me. It was a smart move but I really hated seeing them being carted away like prisoners.

"You've got a rock storm heading straight for this ship and the shields are down!" the Doctor angrily snapped. Before we had left the reception, the Doctor broke free of his captors and ran onto the stage, snatching the microphone from the still crooning singer. "Everyone, listen to me! This is an emergency! Get to the lifeb-" a Host had gone up behind him and placed a hand over his mouth, delivering him back to the stewards. "Look out the window!" he yelled as we were taken away. As we were, Astrid and the Van Hoffs followed behind us.

I sighed from my position behind them. "Just check the shields. See for yourself."

Astrid ran forward. "Sir, I can vouch for them!"

"Uh, Steward, they- they've just had a bit too much to drink."

"They haven't had a thing, Mr Van Hoff," Kie hastily defended. "My parents wouldn't cause this much of a stir unless there was danger."  
"Sir," Mr Copper cut in, turning from where he stood, "something seems to have gone wrong. All the teleports have gone down."

"Not now!" the Steward yelled at the old man as he struggled to move the Doctor along.

"The shields are down. We're going to get hit!" The Doctor exclaimed as we were led down a corridor that seemed to be in the bowels of the ship, with gages and stored chairs.

"Nothing seems to be working!" Mr Copper was barely heard as everyone else had begun to speak. I groaned, rolling my eyes at the dysfunction. The whole thing was bringing about a headache that I knew would just cause me to be even more irate.

The man who had yelled at Astrid when we'd first met her rushed in, a panicked and somewhat angry expression on his visage. "Oi, Steward! I'm telling you, the shields are down!"

"Listen to him. Listen to him!" the Doctor ordered.

Suddenly there was an explosion that sent us all to the ground, causing some of the ship's mechanics nearby to explode and catch fire. As there was another impact, another fire ensued, the electricity sparking and crackling. The ship seemed to rotate, sending us spiralling. "Help me! Help me!" Foon cried out as the Doctor grabbed onto me and I grabbed onto Kie, each of us holding the other close.

"It's alright, sweetheart. Come on," Morvin said to her as he helped her back onto her feet.

"Shush. It's stopping." The Doctor helped me onto my feet, giving Kie and me a once over. "You all right?"

"Yeah," I replied, before turning my attention to the blonde waitress and seeing that Kie was already helping her up. "Astrid?"

"I think so."

"Bad name for a ship. Either that or this suit is really unlucky." He bent down, taking the pulse of one of the stewards. Shaking his head, he informed his co-worker, the Chief Steward, that he hadn't made it through the blast. It was sad, but they had been warned and with that warning, there was enough time to put up the shields. Whoever the captain was, I could only hope he had made it through the blast.

"It's the suit. Every time you wear the bloody thing, something like this happens." He shrugged and placed a chaste kiss atop my head.

"Er, e-e-everyone… Ladies and gentlemen and Bannakaffalatta… I must apologise on behalf of Max Capricorn Cruise-liners. We seem to have had a small collision."

I cocked an eyebrow at the man. While I understood it was his job, and he was trying to calm everyone, it was extremely idiotic to say that what just happened was a 'small collision'. Morvin felt the same. "Small?!" he emphasised in outrage.

"Do you know how much I paid for my ticket?" I rolled my eyes at the man, disliking him more and more. People have died and all he cared about was how much he spent for a ticket. It was disgusting. To keep from smacking the man, I moved towards a panel, trying to evaluate the situation. The Doctor had tried to hand me his sonic but I pushed it back to him. While he was dependant on the thing, unless I really couldn't get into something, I wanted to use my hands. It was a way ogf keeping my mind sharp.

"If I could have silence, ladies and gentlemen," the Chief Steward practically begged, exasperated by how disgruntled they were, something that made sense due to the circumstance. "Quiet!" the man yelled when he couldn't take them all shouting at him. It immediately silenced them and he gave a tense but satisfied grin. "Thank you. I-I-I'm sure Max Capricorn Cruise-liners will be able to reimburse you for any inconvenience."

As I disconnected and reconnected wires, I saw Astrid move from Kie towards Mister Copper from the corner of my eye. "Are you all right, Mr Copper?" I heard her ask. I couldn't help but smile. It was nice to know that she cared about the wellbeing of others. It was people like her that brought a smile to my face during tense and dangerous situations. Turning my attention back to the panel's wiring, I continued my work, shaking my head when the Doctor offered me his sonic again.

"B-B-But first I would point out… that we're very much alive."

"Oh, Doctor!" Astrid called out, causing the older Time Lord to move from my side and over to her. Finally glancing up from my work, I saw that Mr Copper had been injured. She was dabbing his cut with her apron. It wasn't too bad, just a scrape on his forehead, but Astrid must have thought that was something horrible. Maybe it was just the fact that my idea of an injury was a lot different than hers.

"Are you all right?"

"She is, after all, a fine a sturdy ship," the Steward continued on. "If- If you could all stay here while I ascertain," he moved towards a nearby hatch, "the exact nature of the- the situation…"

"Stop! Don't touch that," I ordered as he placed his hand on the lever. The steward glanced at me a moment before he rolled his eyes and returned to opening the hatch.

"Don't open it!" the Doctor cried a second before the door opened and the Steward was sucked out into space. We all grabbed hold of the nearest fixed object, me making sure to keep a firm grip on Kie. The Doctor quickly made his way towards the panel where Kie and I were stationed and soniced the control panel, the screen changing from 'Vacuum Breach' to 'Oxygen Sheild'.

"Oxygen shield stabilised."

Happily and luckily, we all settled our feet back onto the floor. Most were catching their breaths, calming down from what had happened. "Everyone all right? Rys? Kie?" we nodded. "Astrid?"

"Yeah."

"Foon?" She nodded, giving him a thumbs up. "Morvin? Mr Copper?" the two just answered with heavy breathing. "Bannakaffalatta?"

"Yes."

"You," he said, nodding to the man with the vone, "what was your name?"

"Uh, Rickston Slade."

"You all right?"

"Yeah, no thanks to that idiot."

"Excuse me?" I grounded out. There was something about the man that screamed superiority complex and a large part of me wanted to beat it out of him.

"The steward just died," Astrid snapped.

"Then he's a dead idiot." She gasped and began to make her way to him.

"Do you have no respect? He did what he thought was right, he was just following the procedure he was taught."

"All right, calm down." The Doctor stopped and kissed my temple; his words happened to have been meant for me so it seemed. "Just stay still, all of you. Hold on." He walked towards the door, staring out into space. Kie, Astrid and I joined him, seeing the debris and the dead floating around.

"What happened?" Astrid questioned. "How come the shields were down?"

"I don't think it was an accident."

"It wasn't," I confirmed. After going through everything, and seeing all the evidence, I was more inclined to believe the whole thing was some man's scheme. Whoever it was, had no care for the lives of others, that much was very clear.

"How many dead?" I sighed. Of course humans would focus on that aspect. It was a part of their nature.

"We're alive- just focus on that. We will get you out of here, Astrid, I promise." He grabbed her shoulders, making her look at him. "Look at me. I promise." The terrified woman nodded, but only after receiving a nod from Kie. The two really were adorable. "Good. Now, if we can get to Reception, I've got a spaceship tucked away." I grabbed his arm, seeing the Tardis amongst the debris. I tried to point him to it, but he was still in his own head. "We can all get on board and- Oh." He finally followed my instruction and looked back out the hatchway and spotted the Tardis.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Came the frantic questions that the three of us didn't want to answer. Our lifeline was gone, our home... floating amidst the dead and destroyed, on its way to Earth.

"That's our ship over there."

"Where?" Astrid queried, moving to the window and looking out.

"There-" Kie pointed out. "That box, that blue box."

"That's a spaceship?"

"Yeah. It's great."

"It's a bit small."

"Bit distant, wouldn't you say, dear?" He nodded in agreement. "Thing is, once it's set adrift, it's programmed to lock onto the nearest centre of gravity… which happens to currently be Earth." Well, it could be worse. She could have been hurtling towards the sun. The thought didn't go unnoticed by the Doctor who shot me a small glare. I could understand why it would upset him, but it was the truth. While we were trapped on the ship, not particularly sure of what was going on, the Tardis was fine, and that's what mattered to me.

After moving away from the hatch, the Doctor and I moved towards the comms while Kie and Astrid went over to the others in the group. I was worried about the others who were on the ship, crew and guests... those who weren't with us. The number of people I'd seen floating about brought me to think that not many survived the impact and those who hadn't made it outside were either safe or injured, some possibly dead under debris. It was a sad occasion, but I was truly curious as to why this had happened. Why would someone do such a thing. Then again, most things tended to boil down to money, a possible reason for all the death. Sighing, I returned my attention back to the Doctor who was calling the bridge. When there was no response, he tried again. "Bridge. Is there anyone there?"

"This is the bridge."

"Oh hello, sailor. Good to hear you. What's the situation up there?"

"Aah! We've got air. The oxygen field is holding, but the Captain- he's dead." The man began to cry. "He did it. Oh, my vot. He took down the shields. There was nothing I could do. I tried. I did try."

"It's all right, just calm down," I softly told him. It was the best I could do to sooth him, ease him from his panic. He sounded young, probably fresh out of school. Still, he had tried to do something and honestly, he needed to remain calm more than anyone. He was in the bridge after all. He could help us through, be our eyes. "Tell me your name. Really don't want to call you sailor the whole time," I jested, earning a small chuckle from him.

"Midshipman Frame."

The Doctor grinned. "Nice to meet you, sir. What's the state of the engines?"

"They're, um… hold on." A strangled groan came over the comms. "My vot."

My eyes widened in alarm, realising he was probably injured in the blast. It wasn't something most left unscathed. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm all right," Frame answered through a sharp breath. That did nothing to make me believe him but it did make me admire the poor man a bit more. "Oh, my vot. They're- They're cycling down."

"That's a nuclear storm drive, yes?"

"Yeah."

"The moment they're gone, we lose orbit."

Frame gasped. "The planet."

"Oh, yes. If we hit the planet, the nuclear storm explodes and wipes out life on Earth. Midshipman, I need you to fire up the engine containment field and feed it back into the core."

"This is never going to work."

"Trust me, it'll keep it engines going until we can get to the bridge."

"We're going to die," Foon cried out hysterically. It saddened me but the situation did seem hopeless, not that I was ever going to admit it. With the Doctor, Kie and me around, we could figure something out, we could save the survivors.

"Are you saying someone's done this on purpose?" Copper asked from his spot on the floor, seeming to have grasped onto what Midshipman Frame had said.

"We are- We're going to die." I ground my teeth, feeling myself grow irritated with the overwrought woman.

"We're just a cruise ship."

"Okay, okay." I interrupted him, shushing everyone in the corridor. The Doctor nodded in thanks. "Just- Just- first things first- One, we're going to climb through this ship. 'B'."

"Two, dear."

"Right. Two, we're going to reach the bridge. Three. Or 'C'. We're going to save the Titanic. And, coming in a very low four, or 'D', or that little 'iv' in brackets they use in footnotes- why. Right then, follow me." He turned to walk down the corridor, taking my hand as he did so.

"Hang on a moment. Who put you in charge? And who the hell are you, anyway?" Slade spat.

He stopped and released my hand, taking a few strides towards the group. "I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I'm nine hundred and three years old, and I'm the man who's going to save your lives and all six billion people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?"

"No."

"In that case, allons-y!" Turning around he grabbed hold of my hand and pulled me along a smirk on his lips. It seemed my thoughts had filtered over to him as he made his speech and he knew just how sexy it was. If the situation wasn't so dire, I'd have suggested we'd find a cupboard or something for a while. He squeezed my hand, promising we'd disappear once it was all over.

With that said and the promise made, the three of us led the way through the corridor, the others following promptly and thankfully, silently, at least on their end. As we walked, Kie spent most of the time pointing jokes at his father's speech. While it irritated him a bit, the Doctor chuckled on, letting him have his fun. I found fun in his teasing, joining in at some points, although I had stopped after a while, remembering the times Rose and I had done the same. Taking in a breath, I turned to check on the others, making sure they were keeping up. Content that they were, I turned back, releasing the Doctor's hand as we came to a stairwell. He and Kie pushed the bulkhead door open, forcing it open against the debris that held it closed.

"Careful. Follow me." He stepped through and moved what sounded like a metal grate. Nodding, I cautiously and speedily moved through the door, doing my best not to hit any of the debris, in case it was unstable or there was a live electric cord lying about somewhere. We'd encountered plenty of those and Slade had almost been shocked a few times, not that I'd have much of an issue if it had happened.

"Rather ironic, but this is very much in the spirit of Christmas," Mr Copper stated as he walked through the doorway and followed us up the staircase. As he spoke, the Doctor moved some loose rubble aside. "It's a festival of violence. They say that human beings only survive… depending on whether they've been good or bad. I- It's barbaric."

"Actually, that's not true. Christmas is a time of- of peace and thanksgiving and…" I cocked an eyebrow and he met my eyes. "What am I on about? My Christmases are always like this."

"Glad you know. One of these days we'll have a normal, proper Christmas," I mused before seeing a Host. "A Host."

"Strength of ten. If we can mend it, we can use it to fix the rubble."

"We can do robotics- both of us," Morvin responded.

"We work on the milk market back on Sto. It's all robot staff."

"See if you can get it working." The couple nodded and got to work. "Let's have a look," he said motioning his head upstairs. When we reached a certain point, we found it blocked by a shedload of wreckage.

"It's blocked." I rolled my eyes. Thank you Captain Obvious.

"Which means?"

"We shift it," Astrid replied to Kie.

"That's the attitude. Rickston, Mister Copper, and you, Bannakaffalatta- look, can I just call you 'Banna'? It's going to save a lot of time."

"No! Bannakaffalatta." I giggled at the man's refusal. It was how the Doctor got when people called him 'Doc'.

"All right then, Bannakaffalatta, there's a gap in the middle. See if you can get through."

He made his way up to us and to the gap. Bannakaffalatta inspected it for a moment before turning to us. "Easy. Good." Bannakaffalatta said as he started through. When he was halfway, the ship shook and the debris shifted a bit, some of it falling from their place, and giving me a small fright for the little red alien.

"This whole thing could come crashing down any minute!"

"Oh, Rickston, I forgot- did you get that message?"

He shook his head and stared at the Doctor in confusion. "No, what message?"

"Shut up!" he and Kie snapped at the same time. I smirked as Rickston rolled his eyes and scoffed. Luckily before he could respond, Bannakaffalatta spoke.

"Bannakaffalatta- made it."

"Ugh! I'm small enough, I can get through." Astrid said as she pushed past us and into the gap.

"Just be careful, Astrid."

"I'm fine."

"Thing is… how are Mr and Mrs Fatso going to get through that gap?"

"Oh, I don't know, you arse. We're going to make it bigger. Now get to it," I snapped, grabbing some of the debris and forcefully placing it in his hand. I was officially irritated with the man. People like him often left me in a sour mood and it seemed that witnessing people being wronged still pushed my buttons. I wanted nothing more than to knock some sense into him but that would do nothing to help the situation. Instead, I focused on moving as much of the debris as possible.

A moment later, the Van Hoff's laughter floated up to us. "What happened- did they find a doughnut?"

"Rickston, shut the hell up."

"Rys, you next." I was about to argue but the desire to get as far away from Rickston kept me from doing so. Taking a quick breath, I crawled through, mentally letting the Doctor know I was fine.

"We can clear it from this side," Astrid said. "Just say if it starts moving." Astrid grunted as she pulled out a rod. When it was mostly out, I grabbed the end, moving it away from the area. She turned a bit, her eyes falling on the little alien who laid of to the side. "Bannakaffalatta, what's wrong?"

"Shh."

"What is it?"

"Can't say."

I turned to him. "Have you been hurt?"

He shook his head. "Ashamed."

"Of what?"

"Poor Bannakaffalatta." He opened his dress shirt to reveal a metal torso with four buttons and flashing red lights.

"You're a cyborg."

"Had accident… long ago- secret."

"No, but everything's changed now. Cyborgs are getting equal rights. They passed a law back on Sto. You can even get married."

"Marry you?" I smiled at his question. It was adorable to witness, even thought the timing couldn't have been more worse. Still, Astrid had another admirer to add to her list.

Astrid chuckled. "Well, you can buy me a drink first. Come on," Astrid lifted up his shirt and pressed two of the buttons, "let's recharge you. Just… stay there for a bit."

"Tell no one."

"I promise."

"Me too." I promised him. I knew what it was like to keep something hidden and I wasn't going to reveal anything unwanted. "Your secret's safe with us."

"Mum?"

"What's going on up there?"

I rolled my eyes at my two and gestured for Astrid to call down to them. "Oh, I think Bannakaffalatta and I just got engaged." She looked back at the spikey red alien who started to laugh.

As we continued to remove the debris, we heard the yelling on the other side. Astrid and I exchanged a quick glance before we started to move the debris at a quicker rate. Suddenly Rickston forced his way through the gap, pushing me to the floor as he came through. Gathering myself, I pushed him aside, practically growling at the man. "What the hell's going on?"

Before he could reply, Kie spoke, his voice angry. I could tell he'd probably had enough of the situation and of Slade. "It's the Host. They've gone mad."

"Where's your father?"

"Where do you think?"

I sighed, knowing he was most likely with the Host. "Wait, what about the Van Hoffs?"

"They're coming up now."

"I'll never get through there."

"Yes, you can. Let me go first," I heard Mr Copper say before he wiggled his way through, making the gap bigger as he did so. When he'd finally made it through, Kie ordered Foon in. As she did so, she stopped.

"Now I'm stuck!"

"Come on, you can do it!"

The debris soon began to shift. "It's going to collapse," Copper cried as he grabbed a metal bar and levelled the debris as Astrid and I pulled Foon through. I then noticed that Mr Copper was struggling to hold the whole thing up. "Rickston, vot damn it, help me."

"No way." I growled and did everything in my power not to turn on the man and rip him a new one. Instead, I turned my attention to Kie.

"Kie, go on," his fther stated. "Try to widen it a bit more." Kie did so and was soon standing beside Copper, helping him keep the rubble from crumpling. When his eyes flashed on Slade, they took and angry gleam to them but he said nothing. "Morvin, get through!" Morvin did as told but just as Foon had, he got stuck.

"He's stuck!" Astrid voiced.

"Mister van Hoff, I know we've only just met, but you'll have to excuse me." Morvin suddenly popped through.

"That's it. We've got you, Doctor, come on, get through."

"No point in saying that, Astrid." She gave me a questioning look. I sighed and grabbed onto the pipe we were using, my eyes trained on the hole she, Morvin, Mr Copper, Kie, and I were struggling to keep from collapsing. "He's going to try to get whatever information he can before he does."

"Why?"

"Because he's an idiot."

"I can't hold it!" Copper cried a minute before the Doctor came through.

"Thank you. Let go!" Copper released the bar and the debris smashed down onto the Host's head. "And for the record, I am not an idiot." I raised an eyebrow at him. "All right I am, but I'm your idiot," he submitted, kissing my temple, only to receive a whack from me. Realising he'd actually scared me, he pulled me into a tight embrace, waiting for me to calm down some.

* * *

_21/4/2015_

_Hey there all. So, its been a while since I've published anything and I'm so sorry for that. I've been going through personal things and whatnot. Writing hasn't been much of a priority as of late. With that said though, I did want to update since I do enjoy reading your reviews. I'm planning on doing so at **least** once a week. It seems I need to have some sort of schedule in place to keep me posting. I will say that next week will be a bit dodgy since I have 5 papers due so I might not get to update. You've been forewarned. Now, onto the reviews. Thanks to everyone who did so, favourited and followed. It means the world to me. _

_**Squidtastik:** Hope your spring break went well, even with the cold. I'll definitely check out your fic. _

_**NicoleR85:** Haha same. River is a funny sort of character and will always be. In this fic, it's fun to think of how they'd all be together but I do have a twist for her and it will be fantastic (at least I think so). _

_**PhoenixTheTimeLady:** I adore Five so much. Haha, yep, I've read your story and I do enjoy it. Can't wait to see what you do for Time Crash. Thanks so much. It really is awesome when two people read each other's stories. I'm just going to need you to update haha since I've basically finished up the first person version. _

_**Takara Matsudaira:** Same. It's so surreal. I never thought it would be this popular. I remember when it only had a few reads and no feedback or anything. Yep, I definitely know that feeling. Usually I play Dragon Age or if it's Her Secrets related, I listen to the soundtrack music. It tends to help me focus. I'm trying to find a new job as well. I've been applying to at least two on a somewhat daily basis. It's like no one's hiring where I live and while I could travel and don't mind doing so, I would like one close to home, you know? __So glad you enjoyed the chapter. It is one of my favourites as well and I'm glad the chapter was so well received. I'll be PMing you in a bit though. _

_**tardiscompanion101:** Same, it should have been an episode on its own. Thanks so you enjoyed it. Hope you liked the first part of Voyage of the Damned._


	58. Saving the Survivors

Continuing on, I answered as many of Astrid's questions as I could. She was curious about a lot of things but it was sweet, knowing that. Curiosity was always a good thing, especially in our lives, although it did often bring us more trouble than anything. But her questions weren't intruding or anything, she just wanted to know of the worlds we'd seen and the adventures we'd had. Questions I was content to answer. When she seemed to be satisfied with my answers, she made a comment about the situation, earning a disgruntled grunt from Slade and a few chuckles from the others. As they made small talk, the Doctor and I tried to manoeuvre everyone through the destroyed ship, luckily finding ourselves in a narrow corridor with a small bit of debris scattered about. A few moments later, we brought the group to a stop, stumbling upon a room that had a trolley of sandwiches off to the side.

"Morvin, look. Food."

"Oh great. Someone's happy."

"Don't have any then," Morvin spat, obviously very irritated with the stuck up and self-absorbed man. To be honest, I was quite glad Morvin had said something. Slade was nothing but a thorn in my side and every word out of his mouth angered me. It was only a matter of time before I finally blew up on the man, something neither the Doctor and I really wanted... okay, more so the Doctor.

As everyone else stood by the trolley and got something to eat, the Doctor and I were by the comms. We had to speak to the Midshipman and let him know that the Hosts had been corrupted, that they were trying to kill everyone on the ship. "Mister Frame, are you still there?"

"Yes, sir, but I've got Host outside. I've sealed the door."

"They've been programmed to kill. Why would anyone do that?"

"That's not the only problem, Doctor."

I sighed. It seemed the family vacation I had wanted wasn't going quite as planned. "What is it?"

"I had to use a maximum deadlock on the door, which means no one can get in. I'm sealed off. Even if you CAN fix the Titanic, you can't get to the bridge."

"Yeah, right, fine. One problem at a time. What's on deck thirty one?" I glanced up at him questioningly, only for it to be answered through our mental bond. It seemed as if not only were we dealing with killer hosts and a failing engine, we were also dealing with an extremely ruthless person who was willing to do anything to get whatever was desired. Deck thirty one, according to the Doctor's thoughts, was a hiding area, a major area of interest for him.

"Er, that's down below. It's nothing. It's just the Host storage deck. That's where we keep the robots."

The Doctor pulled up the ship's schematics. While everything else was blue and open, deck thirty one was blacked out. "Well, what's that? Do you see that panel? Black. It's registering nothing. No power, no heat, no light."

"I've never seen it before."

"One hundred percent shielding. What's down there?"

"I'll try intensifying the scanner," Frame replied.

"Let us know if you find anything. And keep those engines going."

Astrid joined us a moment later, holding two plates up. "Saved you some. You might be a Time King from Gaddabee but you need to eat." I chuckled a bit, causing the blonde woman to smile. "Does that make you a Time Queen?" she asked me.

"Time Lady. But if we're going by what you're saying, then yes. That makes Kie a prince though," I teased, winking at her. Astrid's cheeks flushed, a coy smile playing on her lips as she oh so discreetly glanced over at Kie before giving us her attention again.

"If you don't mind me asking, how old are you? You all look so young…"

"I'm only a year younger than the Doctor. Kie's closer to 500."

"483," the boy answered as he joined us. A smug grin tugged on his lips as he took in her shocked expression.

"You look good for four eighty three."

"You should see him in the morning," I replied moving my hand up and ruffling his hair. He had it slicked back and I had ended up taking it out of its tamed form. "Hair all over the place."

Kie swatted my hand away before he ran a hand through his dark locks in an attempt to fix the mess I'd made. "Mum…"

"Okay, okay. I'll stop." I smiled as the Doctor nudged me, knowing exactly what I was doing. Before they could respond, Mr Copper joined us.

"Doctor, it must be well past midnight, Earth time. Christmas Day."

"So it is. Merry Christmas."

Astrid glanced between us, confusion written on her face. "This Christmas thing, what's it all about?"

"Long story. I should know, I was there. I got the last room."

"That's just horrible, you know that? Even with sticking to fixed points." He just shrugged his shoulders. "What if it were mum?"

"Your father wouldn't be the one kicking up a fuss, Kie. Besides, with my temper, he'd probably prefer the paradox."

"But if the planet is waking up, can't we signal them? They could send up a rocket or something."

"They don't have spaceships."

"No, I read about it. They have shuffles. Space shuffles."

"Mr C, where'd you get that degree from?"

"Honestly?"

"Just between us."

"Mrs Golightly's Happy Travelling University and Dry Cleaners," the man finally admitted.

Astrid seemed stunned by the admission. I suppose I could see why, with the laws and what not being as harsh as they were, especially concerning the job market. Mr Copper was looking at a bit of jail time if his deception were to get out. "You- you lied to the company to get the job?"

"I wasted my life on Sto. I was a travelling salesman, always on the road, and I reached retirement with nothing to show for it. Not even a home. And Earth sounded so... exotic."

"Hmm. I suppose it is, yeah."

"How come you know it so well?"

"I was sort of- a few years ago- I was sort of made- well, sort of homeless, and, er, there was the Earth." I grabbed his hand, giving it a quick squeeze. While he might have been homeless before, he had Kie and me, and so many companions who loved him with all their hearts. He'd found his home; he was home. Hearing my thoughts, he kissed the top of my head, muttering a thanks. I knew he appreciated it, and that he often times needed someone to push away the dark thoughts that would invade his mind. I would always be there to do so.

"The thing is, if we survive this, there'll be police and all sorts of investigations. Now the minimum penalty for space lane fraud is ten years in jail. I'm an old man. I won't survive ten years."

Suddenly there was a loud bang that came from the door. The Doctor whipped around to see the mechanical angel banging against the metal door, denting it with each assault. "A Host! Move! Come on!"

Scrambling to their feet, the others followed as we raced to the opposite door, the Doctor sonicing it shut once we were all through. Looking around, I realised we were in the engine room. The massive pit that had once held a catwalk, spewed fire up like a raging volcano. The catwalk had long been destroyed, although, a narrow beam had fallen and created a narrow walkway that could lead us across the nuclear storm drives. I'd never really been afraid of heights, but at that moment, the thought of standing over the storm drives terrified me. It wasn't only my safety I had to worry about, but that of the survivors, my family.

"Is that the only way across?"

"Well, I don't know, Rickston. Do you see any other way across?"

"On the other hand," the Doctor intervened, "it is a way across."

"The engines are open."

"Nuclear storm drive. As soon as it stops, the Titanic falls."

"But that thing, it'll never hold our weight," Morvin voiced.

"You're going last, mate."

I clenched my jaw at Slade's comment but remained silent. Getting angry would do nothing for the situation at hand. In all regards, it would make things a lot worse. So instead, I went to lean against the wall, taking the same stance Kie had when we'd finally found him. "It's nitrofin metal. It's stronger than it looks."

"All the same, Rickston's right," Morvin agreed as he shuffled a bit. "Me and Foon should-" before he could finish his sentence, Morvin shifted forward and stepped onto a weak piece of metal. The next thing we all knew, Mr Van Hoff was falling to his death, straight into the engine furnace. I stared in shock as the man vanished. The man didn't deserve to die in such a way... he should have lived.

"Morvin!"

"I told you. I told you!"

As Mr Copper went to speak, I held up my hand stopping him. With a swift recoil, I brought my fist forward, punching Rickston dead centre. Luckily for the idiot, I was controlled enough not to break his nose. "Keep your damn mouth shut." Turning away from him, I brought my attention to Foon, who was being held by Astrid, screaming hysterically.

"Bring him back! Can't you bring him back? Bring him back, Doctor!"

"I can't. I'm sorry, I can't."

"You promised me."

I sighed and closed my eyes, forcing back the tears that threatened to fall. He was so sorry. Hell, the man was trying his damned hardest to get us out of the situation, get us to safety, WITHOUT losing anyone. Every death affected him and Foon's words were getting to him because he HAD promised them that he'd get them that he'd get them to safety. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Doctor, I rather think that those things have got our scent."

"I'm not waiting," Rickston said as he rushed across the beam, missing the glare I shot him.

"Careful. Take it slowly!" The ship jolted and the man fell onto the beam, his arms instantly wrapping around it. I won't lie, there was a slim part of me that wished he had fallen. It sounded horrible but he was just so... no it didn't matter. He wasn't worth it.

"Oh, vot help me."

The Doctor turned from Foon and dealt with Slade, doing his best to help the man calm down and get across. "You're okay. A step at a time. Come on, you can do it." Through the door, we could hear the Hosts crying out 'kill'.

"They're getting nearer."

"Thanks for stating the obvious, Mr C."

"Seal us in."

"You're leaving us trapped, wouldn't you say?"

"Never trapped, just inconveniently circumstanced."

"Oh." The Doctor left Foon's side and soniced the controls.

"I'm okay."

"Maybe he's all right. Maybe, maybe there's a gravity curve down there or something. I don't know. Maybe he's just unconscious," Foon cried hopefully. I wished so much that I could feed that hope, but it would cause her nothing but more grief.

I shook my head, resting a hand on the woman's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Foon. He's gone." Distraught and her hope destroyed, she sobbed into Astrid's arms.

"Yes. Oh, yes! Who's good!" I rolled my eyes but kept my attention on Foon.

"Bannakaffalatta, you go next."

"Bannakaffalatta small."

"Slowly!"

The Hosts hammered on the bulkhead door as Banakaffalatta made his way across the beam. "They've found us."

"Astrid, go. Hurry up and get across," Kie told her. It was a bit obvious he was annoyed with Mr Copper's constant obvious observations and it seemed he really didn't want anything to happen to Astrid.

"What about you?"

I rolled my eyes and intervened. While it was incredibly sweet that she was worried about him, we had no time for that and to be blunt, we were much more resilient than the humans around us. It would be for everyone's best interest if they all made it across without another incident. "Just go. Mr Copper, go with her. We don't have time to waste." Astrid nodded and we switched places, leaving me to comfort the broken woman.

"No, but we-"

"Don't argue. Foon, you've got to get across right now."

"What for?" the woman questioned woefully. "What am I going to do without him?"

""Doctor? The door's locked!"

"Just think. What would he want, eh?"

I sighed, seeing the Doctor's mistake. Morvin was dead, what he wanted wouldn't matter. I'd be the same way if he died. Granted, I'd die shortly afterwards, but the time leading up to that death, I wouldn't give a damn about anyone or anything and I sure as hell wouldn't care about what he wanted. "He don't want nothing. He's dead."

"Doctor, I can't open the door. We need the whirling key thing of yours."

He turned to Slade for a quick moment. "I can't leave her."

"She'll get us all killed if we can't get out."

Having enough, I placed my hand on his arm, bringing his attention to me. "Go. You and Kie, go ahead. I'll stay with her."

"No."

'Please Theta. Take Kie and go. I'll be fine. Always am.'

'I am not leaving you, Rys.'

'Get them to safety, NOW! My life is not more important than theirs. When Foon has calmed down, we'll meet you.'

I felt his irritation with me before he turned his attention to Foon. "Mrs Van Hoff, I am coming back for you. All right?" The teary-eyed woman nodded. Kissing the top of my head, he followed Kie across the bridge.

"Too many people!" glanced up, worriedly watching my husband and child attempt to get across the beam.

"Oi! Don't get spiky with me. Keep going." Bannakaffalatta continued on, hitting what seemed to be the weakest part due to the low groan that came from the metal.

"It's going to fall."

"It's just settling. Keep going." Suddenly the banging stopped and all that was left was the noise from the engine and Foon's sobs.

"They've stopped."

"Gone away?"

"Why would they give up?"

"Never mind that. Keep coming."

"Shut it, Slade," Kie snapped from his spot. The boy was so stubborn; he had remained near the beam, but hadn't gone across it yet. "Where did they go? Where are they?"

"I'm afraid we've forgotten the traditions of Christmas. That angels have wings!" Copper said as the Hosts came down, surrounding them on the beam.

"Information- kill." The Hosts removed their haloes.

"Arm yourselves, all of you." I watched as they all grabbed bits of pipe and used it as a bat, sending the haloes flying. One hit the Doctor, cutting his arm while another caught Mr Copper's side.

Astrid dropped to her knees, seemingly exhausted. I couldn't blame her, but it was no time to give up. "I can't."

"Bannakaffalatta stop. Bannakaffalatta proud. Bannakaffalatta cyborg!" Bannakaffalatta said as he lifted his shirt and sent out an energy pulse that short-circuited the Host. It sent them plummeting unto the engine core, all except one that landed on the catwalk behind the Doctor.

"Electromagnetic pulse took out the robotics. Oh, Bannakaffalatta, that was brilliant!" The little red alien collapsed.

"He's used all his power."

"Did good?" Although I knew the little red man couldn't see me, I nodded, sad that we'd most likely lost another person.

"You saved our lives."

Bannakaffalatta happy."

"We can recharge you. Get you to a power point and just plug you in."

"Too late."

"No, but you got to get me that drink, remember?"

"Pretty girl."

I sighed as I watched him take his last breath. As Astrid moved to fasten his shirt, Mr Copper reached for a component. While I couldn't help but feel it was wrong, there was the fact that the unit could end up helping us again if we ran into more host. "I'm sorry. Forgive me."

"Leave him alone."

"It's the EMP transmitter," Copper began to explain. "He'd want us to use it. I used to sell these things. They'd always give me a bed for the night in the cyborg caravans. They're good people. But if we can recharge it, we can use it as a weapon against the rest of the Host. Bannakaffalatta might have saved us all."

"Do you think? Try telling him that," Rickston said, pointing to the Host that had landed behind the Doctor. In the midst of our distraction, it had begun to reboot.

"Information- reboot."

"Use the EMP!"

"It's dead. It's dead."

"It's got to have emergency-"

"No, no, no. Hold on. Override loophole. Security protocol ten. Six six six. Er, twenty one, four, five, six, seven, eight. I don't know, forty two?"

'Try one. That's usually the go to.'

"Er, one!"

The Host lowered its hands from the halo. "Information- state request."

"Good. Right. You've been ordered to kill the survivors, but why?"

"Information- no witnesses." I tilted my head to the side in confusion. It was so odd. Why would someone want no witnesses... no, that wasn't the right question. What was going to happen that needed no witnesses.

"But this ship's going to fall on the Earth and kill everyone. The human race have nothing to do with the Titanic, so that contravenes your orders, yes?"

"Information- incorrect."

"But why do you want to destroy the Earth?"

"Information- it is the plan."

Looking as confused as the rest of us, the Doctor asked, "What plan?"

"Information. Protocol grants you only three questions. These three questions have been used."

"Well, you could have warned me."

"Information- now you will die."

As the Host raised its halo, Foon pushed me away from her and pulled off the rope that hung on her side. Making it into a lasso, she roped it from behind. "You're coming with me." With a final glance my way, she jumped over the side, taking the Host with her. As she fell, I rushed to the edge, screaming her name as tears ran down my cheeks. I felt arms wrap around my shoulder and looked up to see it was Kie. I was actually quite grateful he'd inherited his father and my pigheadedness. Helping me to my feet, he led me across the beam.

When we had reached the opposite side, the Doctor unlocked the bulkhead door and led us through, and into a corridor. As we walked through, he pulled me from Kie, knowing that he was better apt at calming me. Kie wasn't bothered by it, choosing to walk with Astrid. After walking a bit more, the Doctor stopped and turned towards the group. "Right. Get yourself up to Reception One. Once you're there, Mister Copper, you've got staff access to the computer. Try to find a way of transmitting an SOS. Astrid, you're in charge of this." He held up the EMP transmitter. "Once it's powered up, it'll take out a Host within fifty yards but then it needs sixty seconds to recharge. Got it? Rickston, take this." He handed the man the sonic screwdriver. "I've pre-set it. Just hold down that button, it'll open doors. Do not lose it! You got that? Now go and open the next door. Go on, go!"

"All right!" Rickston went to the door.

The Doctor grabbed a first aid kit and handed it to Mr Cooper. "Mister Copper, you're going to need this. I need you fighting fit. Astrid, where's the power points?"

"Under the comms." We quickly went to plug in the EMP.

"When it's ready the blue light will come on, all right?" Kie explained to her. She nodded bet then her eyebrows furrowed.

"You're talking as if you're not coming with us."

"There's something down on deck thirty one. We're going to find out what it is."

"What if you meet a Host?"

"Have you heard him talk? The man has a gob. Besides, he thinks it's fun."

"Sounds like you do this kind of thing all the time."

"Not by choice. All we do is travel. That's what we are. Just travellers. Imagine it. No tax, no bills, no boss. Just the open sky."

"Pretty sure Mum's your boss."

"You know what I mean."

"I'm sort of unemployed now. I was thinking the blue box is kind of small, but I could squeeze in it, like a stowaway."

Our eyes met and the woman's eyes looked hopeful. "It can get pretty dangerous, Astrid."

"So you need someone to take care of you. I've got no one back on Sto. No family, just me. So what do you think? Can I come with you?"

The Doctor and I glanced at each other and then Kie. It would be nice to have someone else on the Tardis, another woman but by the liking she and Kie had taken to each other, it was his decision. As if sensing it, he smiled. "You know, that doesn't sound half bad at all." Astrid smiled and as she went to say something, there was a bang.

"Mister Frame, you still with us?"

"It's the engines, sir. Final phase. There's nothing more I can do. We've got only eight minutes left."

"Don't worry, I'll get there."

"But the bridge is sealed off."

"Yeah, yeah, working on it. I'll get there, Mister Frame, somehow." He turned from the comm tp face the group. "All charged up? Mister Copper, look after her. Astrid, look after him. Rickston, er, look after yourself. And I'll see you again, I promise."

"He's serious, Mister Copper. Anything happens to her, you're dealing with me," Kie playfully threatened, although it was obvious he was serious.

"Hold on! There's an old tradition on Planet Sto."

"We've really got to go."

"Just a minute," Astrid said as she snatched the first aid kit from Mr Copper, placed it in front of Kie, stood on it, and kissed him. I smirked, as they separated, Kie having a distant expression on his face.

"Wonderful tradition, Astrid, I approve."

She chuckled at my comment. "See you later."

"Definitely," Kie said with a wink, ever the flirt. To keep him from going any further, I grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the door.

As we reached the galley, we ended up meeting with four Host. The Doctor instantly reached for a large sauté pan for defence while Kie and I grabbed other kitchen item, a sauce pan and a large metal pot, well, the pot most likely would be useless but it was good enough for the moment. Jumping in front of us, the Doctor brandished the pan before him, keeping it an arm's or so length away. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Security protocol one. Do you hear me? One. One! Okay, that gives me three questions. Three questions to save my life, am I right?"

"Information- correct."

"No, that wasn't one of them, I didn't mean it. That's not fair. Can I start again?" I groaned, rolling my eyes. The idiot had used up two of the three questions due to his ever flapping mouth. Kie groaned as well, shaking his head at the man in front of us. His father shot us an annoyed glance, more so me since he knew exactly what I was thinking, how much of an idiot he was. "No! No, no, no, no. That wasn't a question either. Blimey. One question left. One question. So, you've been given orders to kill the survivors but survivors must therefore be passengers or staff, but not me, not us. We're not passengers. We're not staff. Go on, scan us. You must have bio-records. No such people on board. We don't exist, therefore you can't kill us. Therefore, we're stowaways, and stowaways should be arrested and taken to the nearest figure of authority. And I reckon the nearest figure of authority is on deck thirty one. Final question. Am I right?"

"Information- correct."

"Brilliant." He dropped the pan, letting it clatter on the floor. Unlike the Doctor, Kie and I placed our improvised weapons back where we found them. "Take us to your leader." He turned to Kie and me. "I've always wanted to say that."

"You already have, remember."

"I meant with this mouth, dear."

I rolled my eyes at the Time Lord before grabbing his hand. "Fine." He pulled it to his lips and pressed a quick kiss on my knuckles.

A while later, we made it to deck thirty one. Overall, it was a work room with a big gaping hole towards the back end. The room was a disaster site, with metal scattered all over as well as debris from the collision. I released the Doctor's hand, moving away a bit to examine a piece of machinery. When I deemed it unimportant, I returned to the boys' sides. "This place is a mess."

Kie nodded. "So, who's this boss of yours? We want to meet 'im."

A Host opened a pair of doors. "Oh, that's clever. That's an omnistate impact chamber. Indestructible. You can survive anything in there. Sit through a supernova. Or a shipwreck. Only one person can have the power and the money to hide themselves on board like this and I should know, because…"

The Doctor had trailed off as a large device with comically small wheels rolled out. Attached to the top of the 'vehicle' was a glass tub with a head inside. "My name is Max Capricorn." As the man smiled, his gold tooth glinted.

Kie smirked triumphantly as it did so, having made a bet whether it did or not with his father. "It really does that."

"Pay up, old man."

"Who the hell are they?" the man snarled.

"Information- stowaways."

"Well…"

"Kill them."

"Oh, no, no, no. Wait, but you can't. Not now. Come on, Max. You've given me so much good material like, how to get ahead in business. See?" The Doctor turned to us, hoping for approval. In return, all he received was a stoic and embarrassed expression. "Head? Head in business?" The man didn't laugh, neither did Kie or myself for that matter. "No?"

"Oh, ho, ho, the office joker. I like a funny man. No one's been funny with me for years."

"Can't guess why," I muttered loud enough for him to hear.

"A hundred and seventy six years of running the company have taken their toll."

"Yeah, but, nice wheels."

"No, a life support system, in a society that despises cyborgs. I've had to hide away for years, running the company by hologram. Host, situation report."

"Information- Titanic is still in orbit."

"Let me see." He wheeled over to a window. "We should have crashed by now. What's gone wrong? The engines are still running! They should have stopped!"

"When they do, the Earth gets roasted. I don't understand. What's the Earth got to do with it?"

"This interview is terminated."

"No. No, no, no, no, no. Hold on, hold on, hold on. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I can work it out. It's like a task. I'm your apprentice. Just watch me. So, business is failing and you wreck the ship so that makes things even worse. Oh, yes! No. Yes. The business isn't failing, it's failed. Past tense."

"My own board voted me out. Stabbed me in the back."

"If you actually had a back," Kie remarked, earning a glare from the man. "So, that's you're angle, kill everyone and the board's shares are cut."

"Not only that," I added, "with the destruction of an entire planet, there'd be outrage back home. The business would be annihilated."

"And the whole board thrown in jail for mass murder," Capricorn said with a smile.

"While you sit there, safe inside the impact chamber."

"I have men waiting to retrieve me from the ruins and enough off-world accounts to retire me to the beaches of Penhaxico Two, where the ladies, so I'm told, are very fond of… metal." His eyes moved to me, taking in my appearance. As he leered, I fought the urge to grab a piece of piping and smash the glass containing his head. The Doctor sensing my discomfort and rising irritation gave my hand a quick squeeze as he walked past me.

"So that's the plan. A retirement plan. Two thousand people on this ship, six billion underneath us, all of them slaughtered, and why? Because Max Capricorn is a loser."

"I never lose."

"You can't even sink the Titanic."

"Oh, but I can, Doctor. I can cancel the engines from here," Capricorn easily stated. Abruptly but not surprisingly, an alarm went off, signalling he had indeed cancelled the engines.

"You can't do this!"

"Host, hold them."

"Not so clever now. A shame we couldn't work together. You're rather good. All that banter yet not a word wasted. Time for me to retire. The Titanic is falling. The sky will burn. Let the Christmas inferno commence. Oh. Oh, Host. Kill them."

"Mister Capricorn!" We all suddenly heard. Turning, we saw Astrid seated behind the wheel of a fork lift. "I resign." She drove towards the cyborg.

"Astrid, don't! Stop!" Kie yelled as she drove forward, getting the fork under Capricorn's life support. It was a battle of strength between the two machines for a moment. A Host, removed it's Halo and threw it, the thing glancing off the cab as Astrid let out a yelp. "The break line's been cut! Astrid, get the hell out of there." I watched as the pair glanced at each other, Astrid's expression sad and apologetic. She lifted Capricorn completely off the ground and ploughed forward through the guard rail, both falling into the engines. Astrid!" Kie screamed as he ran forward, time seeming to stop. When I realised what he was doing, I brought my abilities forward, forcing it to help him as he did what he could to save her.

What felt like hours later, Astrid was in Kie's arms, him rocking her unconscious body. Sighing from exhaustion, I leant against the Doctor, content that at least Astrid had been saved. "Titanic falling. Voyage terminated. Voyage terminated." As the computer said that, the ship began to tilt forwards. I watched as Kie's hold on the woman tightened as he inched backward and pulled himself to his feet with her in his arms. As he left the deck, I slightly pulled away from the Doctor and lifted my hand, snapping my fingers. Two Host held out their arms and once we had a good grip on them, we commanded them to the bridge and we were soon on our way there.

As we moved up the decks, the Host smashed holes through the flooring, and it was no different when we finally reached the bridge. Pulling ourselves from the rubble, we dusted our clothes off a bit and turned to Midshipman Frame. He was younger than I thought he'd be, at least he looked a lot younger. Ages were wasted on me as I was just over nine hundred and looked to be at most twenty five.

"Deadlock broken."

"Ah, Midshipman Frame. At last."

"Um, but- but the Host." He pointed at the robots in fear, not that I could blame him. For hours they'd been going around picking people off.

"Don't worry about them. With their controller dead, they diverted to the next highest authority."

Frame seemed to accept my answer and went back to trying to turn the engines back on and get the ship level. "There's nothing we can do. There's no power. The ship's going to fall."

"Titanic falling."

"What's your first name?"

"Alonso."

"Titanic falling."

My husband turned to me, eyes wide and a huge grin on his lips. I smiled at him, wondering what the odds were of this happening. "You're kidding me."

"What?" The young man asked in confusion.

"That's something else I've always wanted to say." He grabbed hold of the wheel. "Allons-y, Alonso. Whoa!" He quickly spun the ship's wheel clockwise. As we entered Earth's upper atmosphere, a slight heat overcame the room. Once in the cloud layer, I rushed to the scanner as fast as I could and hitting my pelvis against the console in my haste, and turned it on, seeing that the area of impact was west Central London. Knowing WHO was in that area, I grabbed the comm. and quickly dialled a number.

"Give me Buckingham Palace, please. Now!" When the operator patched me through, I was put on with a secretary. "Get the Queen somewhere safe. It's an emergency." When the man refused, I let out an irritated growl. "Look you moron, if you don't get the Queen out of there, she's going to die. It's security code seven seven one. Now get the hell out of there!" When he had taken what I said to heart, I hung up and went to help the Doctor steer.

We were only a few meters from Buckingham Palace when the computer decided to alert us that the engines were back on. The both of us pulled back on the wheel, doing our best to get the Titanic nose up before it crashed into the iconic and historic building. Luckily we just missed the Palace by a few inches and we flew her back into the sky.

"Whoo hoo!" Alonso cried in happiness.

"Whoo hoo hoo!"

I waved my hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah." Hearing a clatter, I turned to see a portrait of Max Capricorn burning in one of the small fires that scattered the room.

"Used the heat of re-entry to fire up the secondary storm drive. Unsinkable, that's us."

"We made it."

"We did," I said as I pushed off the console and left the room, heading for the reception. As I manoeuvred through the debris, I heard the two men running behind me. I needed to make sure everyone was alright, that Kie and Astrid had made it back safely.

As I rushed in, I saw Kie kneeling before Astrid as she sat on the first aid kit. She was shaken but otherwise looked to be fine. Content, I let my gaze wonder over Mr Copper to find that he hadn't sustained any more injuries. While I didn't care much for Slade, I gave him a quick once over and saw that he was unharmed as well. After explaining everything to everyone and the Doctor had been reunited with his sonic screwdriver, he went to work on the teleport unit. As he did that, I had a short conversation with Astrid, gauging just how shaken she was. I had shooed Kie away, wanting to converse with her in private. From the conversation, it was established that it had been the utmost scariest day of her life and that she had to go job searching again, a joke she made. Giving her a smile, I went to check on the process the Doctor was making. He stood a moment after, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me away from the group. When we were a good enough distance, his lips crashed onto mine. I instantly reciprocated, putting all my relief and contentment into it. Parting, we rested our foreheads together for a moment, enjoying the moment of solitude. We both let out a breath, chuckling a bit as we tickled each other's cheeks, I withdrew from his arms and grabbed his hand, pulling him back to everyone else. Alonso made his way towards us as we reached the teleport unit. He had just come through the door, and it was my guess that he'd just returned from the bridge.

"The engines have stabilised. We're holding steady till we get help, and I've sent the SOS. A rescue ship should be here within twenty minutes. And they're digging out the records on Max Capricorn. It should be quite a story."

"They'll want to talk to all of us, I suppose."

"I'd have thought so, yeah."

"I think one or two inconvenient truths might come to light. Still, it's my own fault, and ten years in jail is better than dying." I stared sadly at the old man before an idea came to mind. Sharing a quick glance with the Doctor, he nodded in agreement.

"Doctor, I never said thank you. The funny thing is, I said Max Capricorn was falling apart. Just before the crash, I sold all my shares, transferred them to his rivals. It's made me rich. What do you think of that?" I grit my teeth, and looked up at the Doctor, silently asking if I could punch the man. He shook his head, telling me it would be a waste of energy. Instead I watched as he reached into his pocket, retrieving his ringing vone and walked away from us. "Salvain. Those shares. I want them triple bonded and locked."

"Of all the people to survive, he's not the one you would have chosen, is he? But if you could choose, Doctor, if you decide who lives and who dies, that would make you a monster."

Grabbing five bracelets, I handed one to the Doctor and Kie before I slipped one onto my wrist before turning to the older man. "Mister Copper, I think you deserve one of these." I then turned to Astrid. "You too, Miss Peth." She smiled and placed it on her wrist. With a salute from Midshipman Frame, the five of us teleported down to Earth.

We landed on a grassy bank where the Tardis was only a few steps away. Predictably, it was snowing. I really wanted to have one Christmas where it was real, weather induced snow. "So, Great Britain is part of Europey, and just across the British Channel, you've got Great France and Great Germany," Mr Copper tried to understand as we made our way to the Tardis.

"Nope. It's just France and Germany. Only Britain's Great."

Copper nodded. "Oh, and they're all at war with the continent of Ham Erica."

"No. Well, not yet. Er, could argue that one. There she is. Survive anything."

"You know, between you and me, I don't even thing this snow is real. I think it's the ballast from the Titanic's salvage entering the atmosphere."

"You're right, Mr Copper. Hopefully it'll be real… one of these days."

"So, I suppose you four will be off?"

"The open sky."

"Um, what about me?" I shrugged, smiling. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Give me that credit card."

Mr Copper handed it off to the Doctor who examined it. The old man seemed confused as to why it was asked for. "It's just petty cash. Spending money. It's all done by computer. I didn't really know the currency, so I thought a million might cover it."

"A million pounds?" Kie questioned in disbelief.

"That's enough for trinkets?"

"Mister Cooper, a million pounds is worth fifty million credits."

"How much?"

"Fifty million and fifty six."

The largest smile I've ever seen crossed Mister Copper's lips as tears touched his eyes. I was happy for the man. He'd never had anywhere to call home and now, he had a new planet and money. He could start over, get to live the life he always wanted. "I've got money."

"Yes, you have."

"Oh, my word. Oh, my Vot! Oh, my goodness me. Yee ha!"

"It's all yours. Planet Earth. Now, that's a retirement plan. But just you be careful, though."

"I will, I will. Oh, I will."

"No interfering. I don't want any trouble. Just, just have a nice life."

"But I can have a house. A proper house, with a garden, and a door, and. Oh, Doctor, I will made you proud. And I can have a kitchen with chairs, and windows, and plates, and-" the man began to skip away.

"Em, where are you going?"

"Well, I have no idea."

"No, us neither." He turned to us. "Ready?"

"Actually, I think I'd like to stay with Mr Copper." She turned to Kie. "I'm really sorry. I would love to travel with you but what happened today, what I saw, I- I can't." The Doctor and I nodded and walked into the Tardis, giving the pair some privacy. Ten minutes later, Kie joined us looking happier than I thought he would. It was obvious to me that whatever they had spoken about was good and I had a feeling we'd be seeing Astrid every so often, something I was perfectly content with. It was a bit sad though, that Kie was denied his first companion, but I knew his time was coming around.

With the Tardis in the time vortex, I went to my room. After a quick shower and changing into sweatpants and a tank top, I returned to the console room and I found that the Doctor was alone. Walking up behind him, I wrapped my arms around his torso. He was thinking, his thoughts all over the place but from what I gathered, they were specifically on Kie. Getting onto my toes, I kissed his neck. That changed his train of thought almost immediately. "You all right?" He nodded, turning to face me, pulling my body closer to him and resting his chin on the top of my head. With my free hand, I reached into his pocket and pulled out a penny and held it up. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"You should know."

"I want you to tell me."

"What Kie did on the Titanic, I've never seen anything like it. We don't have the capabilities to do that. Astrid should have died."

"I know."

"Then how was he able to save her?"

"Theta, there's a lot that we don't know about him… we missed three hundred plus years of his life. What he did, who's to say it's not because of my family… because of my father?"

"Do you remember your father doing such things?"

"No but he did save my mother from death. She did crash on his plant and luckily it was him who found her. Who's to say that's how he saved her. My dad wasn't particularly normal, especially for his people."

"I suppose. You'd tell me if you had those abilities, right."

I blinked and remained silent for a moment, choosing to nod instead. A few seconds later, I felt more confident in speaking. "Of course. Why would I hide that from you?"

"I don't know. Why would you?"

"I wouldn't." _Liar._

"All right," he replied, pushing off the console, his arms still around my waist.

I let him lead me to his room, which was quite big, filled with books and knick knacks that littered just about every surface. The bed was on the larger side with dark a dark brown comforter over crème sheet and the walls were slightly off white. On one of the end tables were three frames, each with a photo. The first was of a much younger Kie, the Doctor, and I before the War, the second was of him and I in the mountains. It was taken one of the days we had managed to sneak away from our homes in the early morning to watch the second sun rise. The third was of Rose and me. We were standing before a large wave that had frozen over, and we had struck a Charlie's Angels pose. It was a relaxing adventure that had ended on a high note, a family dinner with Jackie and Mickey. Grabbing that one, I softly smiled, remembering the day. I didn't realise I was crying until I saw the tear splash onto the frame. The picture was then removed from my hand and returned it back to its spot on the table. I turned into him and let my tears out. It was the first time I'd actually REALLY cried over the loss of Rose. I missed her more than anything and wished she had met Kie, had been able to know me as a Time Lady.

Once all my tears had been shed, I pulled away from him a bit, kissing him in thanks. He just smiled and planted another kiss on my lips. Pushing me onto the bed, he pulled the cover up to my chin and kissed the top of my head. As he turned to walk away, I reached out, grabbing his hand. "Don't go."

"I'm going to take a shower and I'll be back, all right?" I nodded and released his hand.

I laid there for what seemed like hours thinking about Rose. The tears had returned with a vengeance and no matter what I did, they wouldn't stop their assault. I had pulled the comforter over my head, blocking out all light as I cried. It wasn't until I felt the other side be pulled back did I glance behind me. Seeing my husband, I launched myself into his arms, finding comfort in being close to him. Rubbing my back and whispering sweet nothings, he was able to calm me down enough for sleep to take me. Before I had fully fallen asleep, I kissed his neck and snuggled closer to him, mentally letting him know how much I appreciated him.

In memory of

Verity Lambert OBE

1935-2007

* * *

_01/6/2015_

_GHAHH! It took way too long for me to post another chapter and for that I am so sorry. With the end of semester crap, I was insanely stressed, and on top of that, I was supposed to have had completed my novel... which hasn't even been started yet. This summer is definitely going to be stressful in regards to that. And it's crazy hot and I'm heading back out to England in the next few weeks, so I'll be getting some writing done on the plane and whatnot. To be honest, I have more chapters to edit than write to be honest... at least in regards to by baby TEN. I think it's taking so long because I don't want to get to the End of Time. I don't know if I can handle writing it. Heck, I can't even watch it anymore without bawling like a baby. His regeneration kills me, although I have made the decision to add some more to it. Ghahh! I'm so sorry guys. Thanks for sticking with me, and to all the new readers, thanks for the favourites, follows and reviews. They mean a lot to me. So, now onto the reviews._

_**NicoleR85:**__ I'm always happy to oblige. Hope you enjoyed the chapter._

_**Takura Matsudaira:**__ Ahh, questions. Okay, so, for your first question, I'm going to direct you to the Her Secrets: One Shots. The first chapter should definitely answer that question ;). As for your second question, my dear friend, well, her actual background will be revealed soon, unless you'd like for me to add it in my PM to you. I used two old who races for her biological make up. But that's awesome. My friend's boyfriend and I got her into it and now we just have to watch the Christmas special... which tumblr has ruined for me a bit. I know about Danny. However, that's great, the world needs more Whovians. But they are! I would have all of the DVDs if I could afford them. Haha... I definitely happened to answer your question above. I'm an avid Ten lover. He was my first Doctor. Still, Nine is a very close second... probably neck to neck with my darling. Same. David's supposed to be in New York preforming in Henry IV next year. I'm really trying my hardest to save up to see him... and maybe meet the man. I'd have to hold every ounce of (in)sanity within me not to freak out if I do._

_**Ronin Kenshin:**__ Thanks. Hopefully the conclusion to this adventure was to your liking._

**_Squidtastik_****:**_ Honestly, I hated the man when I watched the episode. I abhor people like him. I did enjoy it. I look forward to see where it goes :) My spring break was just about the same, with the addition of a few projects and a mid term. Oh, and Dragon Age. I love that game. My favourite noncompanion would have to be Jenny and Vastra, although more so Jenny. She's so damn kick ass._

**_tardiscompanion101_:** _Can I just say, reading your review had me grinning like a moron for hours. Thank you so very much. I'm so very happy you loved the chapter and I hope you liked this one. Now, I'm sure your writing is just as awesome. Besides, mine technique and writing definitely needs more improvement. Sorry it took forever to update. Life's crazy._


	59. Health and Safety

While we had gone on a few adventures since my slight breakdown and I was beginning to get back to normal. I hadn't really participated in the adventures, making it become more of a father-son thing, bonding time for the boys. It was nice to watch them interact, reminding me of just how close they were on Gallifrey, even with the Doctor away so often. Then again, it was the same with HER. She was the biggest daddy's girl in the universe. He'd even had to come back a few times after finding out she'd snuck on board. As they looked over plans during our trip to Bahoon, a half forest, half desert planet where the locals were threatening to destroy two-thirds of the forest in order to create more room, I had snapped a picture of the pair. When we had returned to the Tardis, I transferred the picture from the phone and printed it out, fitting it into a picture frame and placing it with the three other pictures in the Doctor's room. Smiling, I joined the boys in the console room where they were manoeuvring around the controls.

When the Tardis had landed, I looked to see where we were and bolted out the ship and into the awaiting arms of Jack. I was so happy to see him, and to know that he was getting on quite well. When he placed me down, he and the Doctor hugged and Kie shook his hand. With greetings completed, I decided we should grab some brunch and then go to meet his team. Kie was all for it but the Doctor said something about needing to fix the Tardis. I rolled my eyes, meeting those of Jack who knew exactly what he was doing. Sighing, I grabbed onto his arm and pulled him back into the Tardis and sitting him in the jump seat. "Theta..."

"They're Torchwood, Rys. After all they did…"

"That was a different Torchwood. This is Jack, we're talking about. The man adores you and would never take over Torchwood without implementing changes. He already said he changed it in your honour." Knowing he wouldn't be budged, I sighed. "I won't force you to tag along there. You are, however, coming to brunch." He grumbled something under his breath before getting to his feet. Content, I gave him a quick peck on the cheek and we joined Jack and Kie.

"Everything good?"

"Yep. He'll be joining us for brunch and then returning to the Tardis. Hopefully he doesn't break her… again." He was about to protest but I shot him a glare and he instantly closed his mouth. His reaction received a small chuckle from Jack and a not so hidden laugh from Kie. Taking his hand, the four of us walked down the street looking for somewhere to eat.

After finding a little café, we were sat and ordered our meals, making small talk about redundant things until the waiter left us to input our orders. As we waited for the food to be delivered, Jack filled us in on what had happened since the 'year that never was'. As he spoke, my eyes wandered, taking in the area for any threat. It had been a nervous tick of mine since our last visit to Earth, since that dreadful year. I never wanted to go through that again, or anyone I cared about for that matter. There was too much pain we'd all endured... pain that might have avoided if we'd only paid attention, if we'd been aware of all the signs. Never again I would allow us be caught in the way the Master had us.

As the Doctor's hand grasped mine, I jumped, slightly startled from the unexpected contact. It seemed I was so deep in my thoughts, I hadn't realised he'd been trying to get my attention moments earlier. Gratefully, he hadn't seemed to realise where my thoughts had gone. Jack and Kie thankfully took no notice of it, the former too caught up in his story and the latter engrossed in the tale. Watching the two, I couldn't help but feel as if Kie, being so enamoured in what was being said, might want to remain on Earth. I began to pout as I dwelled on it; we had only just gotten him back and I wasn't ready to let him go, not when we had so much to do, so much lost time to make up for.

'Stop worrying, Rys. If he wants to stay then let him. We'll visit as often as possible.'

I met the Doctor's eyes. I hadn't realised I'd been projecting my thoughts to him. 'Is it so bad that I want to keep him locked away in the Tardis?'

'Yes. He's our child. There's no way he'd ever allow himself to remain a prisoner. His heart's in travelling.'

'I know but I can always hope.'

I felt him squeeze my hand in a gesture of comfort. Giving him a small smile, I returned my attention back to Jack, chuckling as he made a joke. Taking a sip of my water, I glanced up at the server as he placed my meal before me. Thanking him, I grabbed my fork and began to eat. In between bites, I made small comments as Kie went on about what we'd done since leaving. It was nice to see them getting on so well, although, I had learnt that Jack had taken a shine to the 'smart mouth kid that took out three of his guards before being knocked out' while we had been the Master's captives. While I smiled, joked, and laughed, I couldn't help the nagging feeling within me, no matter how much I tried to ignore it. If he wanted to remain on Earth, with Jack, I would just have to deal with it.

Once the food had been eaten and plates cleared, the three of us lingered for a small while, chatting up a storm. A few moments later, we decided it was time to head out; Kie and I were eager to meet Jack's team and I knew the Doctor really wanted to return to the Tardis The man was never good at keeping up with people. Heck, if I wasn't his Ame Soeur, I doubt I'd have seen him again. As we left the café, Kie and Jack strode off towards the Torchwood Hub with the notion that I would join them shortly. With them a short distance away, I turned to the Doctor, conveying my worries the best I could. This time, however, my worries were not about Kie but about something that was to happen in the extremely near future, something that the Universe desired more than anything. While he nodded and understood what I was saying, he couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped. While my feelings never led me astray, the Doctor seemed to take join in brushing them aside, even if he took them seriously. I slapped his arm but leaned in for a kiss anyways, not really upset with him. How could I be? When we both pulled back, I turned and began the somewhat short walk to Torchwood as he retreated to the Tardis.

Catching up with the boys, I stood beside them in front of the Oval Basin. Just standing there, even if it wasn't where the event had taken place, brought back the horrid memories of that day and what happened after. I didn't realise I was crying until Jack leaned over and wiped under my eyes with his thumb. Glancing at him, I saw the sympathetic expression on his face; he knew why I was crying, what the place meant to me. "Mum, you all right?" My gaze found Kie's and I nodded. While I had told him about Rose, I never truly went into detail as to the reason she 'disappeared'. All he actually knew was that she was alive in a parallel world with her mum and dad. Understanding, he never pried, even though I knew he wanted to. He was always so inquisitive, a trait he got from his father.

I forced a smile to my lips, hoping it was enough to ease his mind. "Yeah, fine. Being here just brings back a few… bad memories." Kie looked as if he wanted to question me more but I saw Jack place a hand on his shoulder, a clear indication to let it drop. Instead, he pulled me into a hug and promised everything would be all right and that he wouldn't let anything happen to me. My forced smile instantly turned genuine at his words. I was so happy to hear them, and so happy to have found him and be given a second chance. Smirking, Jack pressed a button on his vortex manipulator and we were lowered under the street.

A few hours later, and after meeting the wonderful members of the Torchwood team, a blip showed up on Torchwood's scanner. Not long passed before the Doctor mentally contacted me and informed me of it. I wasn't expecting Kie to join me as I readied myself to leave and he didn't. Instead, I was left with a small bout of protest from Owen Harper. Since we'd been introduced, he'd made it his mission get to know me, and if I were to be honest, I did enjoy his company. He was quite the charmer, funny, and extremely blunt, something I simply adored. The longer we spoke, the more I saw him as a potential candidate to be my companion. However, I knew he would probably never leave Torchwood on his own accord and while I was okay with that, I couldn't help but entertain the idea of one day soon having a companion of my own.

As I reached the Tardis, the Doctor stepped out, pulling the door shut as he reached for my hand. Instead of rushing to the source of the spike, we leisurely made our way to the building. It was a nice walk, one filled with conversation, whether mentally or verbally. For the most part, we were planning our next trip… more so debating where it would be. I wanted somewhere noted in the history books while he surprisingly wanted to travel to another planet. It was no secret he loved Earth, but I suppose even he needed to get away from the place every once in a while. We kept it up until we reached our destination, Adipose Industries, and moved to the building's back door. Grabbing the sonic from the Doctor, although he basically handed it to me, I unlocked the door, causing it to spark, and pulled him through, making sure to lock it once we were both inside. While it earned me a curious gaze, I just stuck out my tongue at him and led him along through the basement. As we manoeuvred through the cellar, we wound up running into a security guard. Before the man could utter a word, the Doctor reached into his jumper and pulled out the psychic paper, flashing it before the man's eyes. "John Smith and Cerys Tyler, Health and Safety." Realising the name he'd used for me, I stared at him, wide-eyed. While a part of me didn't really mind, a bigger part couldn't believe he'd use her last name. Catching my expression, he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me to him. "Sorry," he muttered in my hair. I nodded and pulled away, moving towards the lift.

When we reached the proper floor, we made our way to the projection room. There was no way we could join the other people, it would be too obvious that we weren't meant to be there, even with the Doctor's charms. Moving to the small window, the Doctor and I crouched down on either side, listening to a severe looking blonde woman as she spoke. She went on about some diet pill, one that would make the fat 'walk away'. I scoffed a bit, cynical of the effects, but continued to listen as the presentation took over. "Adipose Industries. The Adipose capsule is composed of a synthesised mobilising lipase, bound to a large protein molecule. The mobilising lipase breaks up the triglycerides stored in the adipose cells, which then enter-"

"Health and Safety," the Doctor said, flashing the psychic paper again, this time to the man, technician, who had entered the projection room. He seemed thoroughly confused as to why we were. With my prodding, the Doctor elaborated, although he didn't spare the man a glance. "Film department." When the man's gaze landed to me, I gave him a small smile and returned my attention back to the woman.

"One hundred percent legal, one hundred percent effective."

The young black woman who had first questioned the blonde spoke up again. "But, can I just ask, how many people have taken the pills to date?"

"We've already got one million customers within the Greater London area alone. But from next week… we start rolling out nationwide. The future starts here… and Britain will be thin." I cocked an eyebrow, glancing at my husband who also had a curious expression on his face. Getting to our feet, we both left the projection room and wondered into the call centre. After walking in a bit, the Doctor and I made our way to an occupied cubicle, him taking a seat beside a young woman on a call.

"John Smith, Health and Safety. Don't mind me," he whispered as he showed her the psychic paper. I watched as she turned around, a smirk on her face. Instantly, my gaze turned into a glare and I moved from the cubicle's opening and stood beside him, leaning against the desk my arms folded. Her eyes met mine for a moment, a bit smug, before she returned her attention to the Doctor. In her slight moment of distraction, he had grabbed hold of a gold necklace with a pill pendant.

"It's made of 18-carat gold, and it's yours free," she continued, speaking to both the Doctor and the person on the other end of the phone. "No, we don't give away pens. Sorry." I reached over and grabbed the necklace, examining it myself. It was giving off a weird vibe that I couldn't place. The one thing I did know was that it was most likely otherworldly. Besides, what company gave away 18 caret gold for free? That was suspicious enough. It was always pens. Unable to really get anything from the article of jewellery, I handed it back to him and looked at the girl.

"Mind printing off a list of your customers?" She glanced at me, beginning to reject my request but the Doctor butted in.

"Course she can. Where's the printer?" He popped to his feet, turning a bit. "That's the printer there?"

The woman eagerly, too eagerly for my liking, hopped to her feet. "By the plant, yeah."

"Brilliant," he said, sitting back down. I just rolled my eyes, and stood, leaving the workspace for the printer. The sooner we got the list, the sooner we could get away from the building, from that little girl.

As I walked down the aisle, the severe blonde we'd watched speak entered the room with two large guards. To avoid being seen, I popped into the nearest cubby, the man sitting there glancing at me, surprised. I'd rather his startled expression than being seen by the woman and noticed as an intruder. "Health and Safety," I muttered, cursing myself for not taking the psychic paper from the Doctor. Luckily, the man just gave me a curt nod.

"Excuse me, everyone. If I could have your attention…" As she said that, everyone got to their feet. "On average, you're each selling forty adipose packs per day. It's not enough. I want one hundred sales per person, per day. And if not… you'll be replaced. Because if anyone's good at trimming the fat, it's me. Now… back to it." As she left and everyone returned to their seats, I went back to the Doctor, only to see him being handed a piece of paper.

"Thanks, then." He looked at the slip, not understanding what it was. "Oh, what's that?"

"My telephone number," she answered.

"What for?"

"Health and Safety. You be health. I'll be safety." I ground my teeth, my gaze on the woman becoming murderous. While I was working on the whole jealousy thing, I wasn't that great at it yet. I cocked my head to the side, my eyes leaving the kid and moving to the Doctor's.

'Yes Theta, why not go for it,' I goaded. I knew it was immature, but as stated before, I was working on the jealousy thing. I had nowhere near perfected my zen. Hearing my voice in his mind, the man jumped, clearly not expecting it.

"Uh, uh…" he looked up, glancing at me before he began to ramble. "But that contravenes, um, paragraph five, subsection 'C'. Sorry."

The girl looked to be confused by what he said (not really) so I decided to help her understand. "What he means is no, he isn't interested, nor will he ever be. Now, if you could print off the list."

The Doctor grabbed my arm and led me towards the printer before I could say anything else to the girl. Both of us passing a ginger woman in a sleek suit. She didn't seem to be an employee there, but then again, she looked more like one than I did. Reaching the printer, the Doctor lifted the lid, seeing that it hadn't printed. When he turned to make his way back to the woman, I stopped him and told him to stay there while I dealt with her. When I got to the cubicle, I leant against its opening, my lips in an annoyed grimace. "I'm sure you were hoping he'd come back, but it's just little ol' me. Papers never printed. My husband and I really need them to do our job and by keeping those papers from us, it's putting your job in jeopardy…" I glanced around, finding a small name plaque, "Clare." The woman glared at me for a moment before turning to her computer and setting it to print the list. Satisfied, I gave her a small smile and turned away, muttering a less than sincere thanks.

With the list in hand, the Doctor and I left Adipose Industries. After a moment of sifting through the names, we decided to visit the seventh name on the list. Following what had happened at the offices, I refused to visit the home of any of the women. While I knew not all women were attracted to the Doctor, majority of the women we'd bumped into often fell for him and I really didn't want a repeat of Clare. Finally agreeing, we caught a cab to the chosen customer's home. Since the Doctor never carried money, I sifted through my (his old) jacket pocket for a tenner and payed the fare. As the cab drove off, the Doctor bound up the path and knocked on the door. Moments later, an older man with dark curly hair, blue eyes and wearing a grey sweater with a plaid collar pocking out opened the dark wood door. "Mister Roger Davey?" The man nodded to the Doctor, seeming to be confused. Then again, it was quite late for a house call. "We're calling on behalf of Adipose Industries." I grabbed the psychic paper and held it up for the man. "Just need to ask you a few questions." The man moved aside and invited us in. Walking past Mr Davey, the Doctor and I made our way to the sitting room. While I chose to lean against the green wall, the Doctor paced the small room and Roger sat in one of the arm chairs.

"So, how long have you been using the pills?"

"I've been on the pills for two weeks now. I've lost fourteen kilos," the man proudly answered. I found it interesting. A kilo a day was wonderful progress, but it seemed to be too fast for my liking.

"That's the same amount every day?"

"One kilo exactly. You wake up, and it's disappeared overnight. Well, technically speaking, it's gone by ten past one in the morning."

"Why do you say that?"

"That's when I get woken up. Might as well weigh myself at the same time." I nodded, sharing a glance with the Doctor. "It is driving me mad. Ten minutes past one, every night, bang on the dot, without fail, the burglar alarm goes off."

"Mind if we have a look?" I ask.

Mister Davey nodded and led us to the front of the house. I glanced up examining the alarm for a moment. It would have helped if I had the sonic and a ladder but that would be a bit too much. "I've had experts in, I've had it replaced, I've even phoned 'Watchdog'. But no, ten past one in the morning, off it goes."

"But with no burglars?"

"Nothing. I've given up looking."

"Tell me, Roger. Have you got a cat flap?" Roger looked at us, meeting my eyes before leading us back into the house, to the backdoor. I stood to the side as the two men laid on the linoleum floor, looking out the cat flap.

"It was here when I bought the house," he replied. "I've never bothered with it, really. I'm not a cat person."

"No, we've met cat people. You're nothing like them." Mr Davey looked at the Doctor and then me, his eyebrows coming together a bit before he decided to ignore what the Doctor had said.

"Is that what it is, though- cats getting inside the house?"

"Well, thing about cat flaps is, they don't just let things in- they let things out, as well."

"Like what?"

"The fat just walks away," I muttered, reiterating what the blonde woman had said in her presentation, and causing Davey to glance up to me. Agreeing with me, the Doctor jumped to his feet and grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the front door. There was definitely more to this Adipose Industries than just weight loss and we were both determined to get to the bottom of it.

"Well, thanks for your help. Tell you what, maybe you could lay off the pills for a week or so," the Doctor suggested as we walked out. Suddenly the three pronged, clear device with a flashing red centre, that he had most likely put together earlier in the day began to beep from within the depths of the Doctor's pocket. Pulling it out, he smirked and squeezed my hand before dropping it. "Oh! Got to go. Sorry." With that, we took off down the street, continuing on as we followed the increased beeping of the device.

Running across a narrow street, the Doctor and I stopped and backtracked a bit, going straight for a few seconds before coming to another stop due to the gizmo's sporadic beeping. The Doctor held it up and hit it a few times before blowing on it. Of course the man would do that, and only with the idiot would it start to work properly again as the beeping became more rhythmic. Honestly, the man was a force to be reckoned with when it came to the impossible. Taking it as it was, we ran off again, making our way down the street before encountering the same problem again. This time he shook it and it went back to working and we took off down the block. Hearing a siren, I stopped on the sidewalk while the Doctor rushed into the street, just narrowly avoiding being hit by a speeding black van. As it passed, the beeping on his device intensified, causing us to share a curious glance before we took off down an alleyway to intercept it. As the beeping slowed, we came to a stop at the end of the alley, the Doctor moving in circles until the beeping had stopped. Sighing, we turned around and began to head back to the Tardis, both of us realising that the source had come from the van.

Before we made it to the Tardis, I insisted on grabbing some good ol' fashioned fish and chips. I was quite famished from all the running and I knew although he'd deny it, the Doctor was hungry as quickly found the nearest shop and purchased our dinner With the bag of food in hand, we finished the walk to the Tardis. Once inside, I opened up the container and began to eat, watching the Doctor as he examined the pendent under a magnifying glass. "Oh, fascinating."

"What is?"

"Seems to be a bioflip digital stitch, specifically for-"

"The owner of the pendent. It tunes onto their biological wavelengths but there's something else, something we're missing." I stood and placed the food on the seat. "Why fat?"

"Don't know, but we'll figure it out." I nodded in agreement before I pulled him away form the console and handed him his container. While he started to resist, one glare from me quickly shut him up. We ate in silence for the most part, with theories for the pendant being bounced around every so often. When we both finished, I cleaned up and left him to continue examining the article of jewellery.

* * *

_06/3/2015_

_Ugh, this is so short. I really tried to make it longer, but alas, it didn't happen. On a good note, I did update quite quickly. Yay me. The next chapter will definitely be longer though. For a while I've been going though the chapters and doing a bit of editing and to be honest, this episode has by far taken me the longest. I really didn't care much for the episode to be honest. I also know that the next one will take me a while as well, I have started going over it though, and for the most part, it doesn't seem to need too much (at least I don't think). But yeah, with that said, thanks to all who commented, favourited, and followed. I appreciate it so much. Now, onto the reviews. _

_**Squidtastik:** Same here, I really wanted Astrid to hit him during the episode but since she didn't I decided Rys should. She likes hitting people anyways and he deserved it. He was such a prick. I am thinking of doing some Torchwood in this story as well as doing a side story where it's Kie's adventures with Torchwood (Astrid will be in it). I think it'll be fun, but it won't be until I finish at least the first season of Eleven. _

_**NicoleR85:** Your wish has been granted. Here's Donna! (well, kind of. She'll really be in the next one)_

_**tardiscompanion101:** Thanks. I had to throw in some mum/son time. Back on Gallifrey the two were extremely close so it's only fair that they still are. Besides, they had time to work things out and Kie doesn't really blame her for what happened (at least that's how I want it to be). Thanks for your kind words, they really mean a lot to me. I will definitely try to keep them in mind, especially on bad writing days. As for companions, As much as I like Rose, Donna is my favourite Ten companion (Martha's a very close second). And Eleven, River and Rory. I do adore Amy, but I love my Roman and psychopath more. Clara is great and all, but we've already discovered her mystery. I think it's time for a new companion and I want more River with Twelve. How about yours?_

_**PhoenixTheTimelady:** __Same. I hated when she died. But now that she's alive she's the LI of our youngest Time Lord. I wonder how that'll work out._ But I definitely felt the same way about her traveling. While I felt she would have loved the traveling, the danger of it all would have probably gotten to her in the end. Maybe if the Doctor wasn't such a trouble magnet, she would have been able to go along. However, she'll be having her own adventures when it comes to Kie. Thanks.

_**Guest:** Thanks so much. I'm glad you've('re) enjoying the story. It makes me so happy to know. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter as well. _


	60. Partners in Crime Teaser

The next day, and after coming to the agreement that the answers would be at Adipose Industries, the Doctor and I manoeuvred the Tardis to an area near the building, another alley actually. While I had to get on him about using the hammer again, it was a relatively uneventful flight, minus the Tardis' grumbles of disdain. We entered Adipose Industries through the back door again and settled in a storage room, locking the door with the sonic once inside. Since we had a few hours wait, we figured out a few ways to keep ourselves busy.

When the work day had finished, we snuck out of the room and made our way up to the roof. Although the Doctor tended to just wing things, we had both figured we needed to be somewhere where we could see what was going on without being spotted. At first he wanted to listen through the woman's door, I brought up the roof, saying no one would really be outside her window. Seeing a window cleaner's cradle, we got in and after flipping the switch, were lowered down the building's side. The Doctor stopped the cradle when we reached a little under the level of the office. To avoid being seen, we ducked down as four people entered the room, one being held against her will, the reporter. Reaching into the Doctor's jacket, I pulled out a stethoscope and handed it to him. Placing it onto the window, he listened to the conversation, with me listening to what he was hearing.

"You can't tie me up! What sort of country do you think this is?"

"Oh, it's a beautifully fat country. And believe me, I've travelled a long way to find obesity on this scale."

"So, come on then, Miss Foster, those pills. What are they?"

"Well, you might just as well have a scoop, since you'll never see it printed." The Doctor moved the scope up from the wall to the window. I inched up, my eyes on the woman we now knew was a Miss Foster. In her hand was a small white pill. "This… is the spark of life."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Officially, the capsule attracts all the fat cells and flushes them away," she explained. "Well, it certainly attracts them. That part's true. But it binds the fat together and galvanises it to form a body."

"What do you mean, a 'body'?" I furrowed my brows and thought back to Mister Davey and how he'd lost a kilo by ten past one every day. Then Ms Foster's words hit me. 'The fat just walks away'. So, if the fat cells are bound together to form a body, the body would most likely be what was waking Mr Davey every morning, why he was losing a kilo at the same time every day. Though, I couldn't really understand as to why she was doing it; what was the point of it all.

"I am surprised you never asked about my name. I chose it well. Foster. As in foster mother. And these… are my children." The Doctor joined me in looking through the window, seeing a little white creature. To be honest, it was quite adorable and I couldn't really deny that the diet plan was quite effective, even if it was making little fat creatures. The Doctor nudged me and rolled his eyes at my thoughts. Of course I'd find a little glob of fat cute.

"You're kidding me. I don't… What the hell is that?!" the reporter exclaimed, whether it was in disgust or fear, I wasn't sure.

Miss Foster walked around her desk and lifted the little thing up. "Adipose. It's called… an Adipose… made out of living fat… from people." Well, the name made sense.

"But I don't understand."

"From ordinary human people." My gaze was torn from the scene to see the same ginger we'd passed in the call centre staring at the Doctor wide eyed. Glancing at him, I saw that he too seemed to be shocked. It was obvious to me that they knew each other but as to how, escaped me until the Doctor, sensing my confusion, showed me. Completely disregarding the fact that we were supposed to be hidden in his shock, the man stood to his full height. After some time of them mouthing to each other, the ginger gave two thumbs up.

Glancing from the woman, I saw Miss Foster staring at us, not that either of them noticed. Rolling my eyes at the two before attempting to alert my husband that we'd been caught. "Doctor…" He paid me no mind, much to my irritation. Instead, he continued to 'listen' to what the ginger was saying. The woman, Donna, finally noticed what I had, and that prompted the Doctor to finally see that they were being stared at.

"Are we interrupting you?" Miss Foster asked, clearly irritated.

"Run!"

* * *

Hey all. I hope you enjoyed this little tid bit from the next chapter. So, here's my reasoning for doing this. One, I'm slightly lazy. Two, I usually like to have a few chapters (three) edited before I actually post a new one. This keeps me ahead of the game and while it takes me a while, it really does help. Three, I might have spent this weekend at a friend's place and have gotten a tad wise ;). Although honestly, I'm just trying to stay ahead of the game. If I were to be stuck on the current chapter I'm editing (which I was for a while) then nothing would ever be posted. With that said, all reviews will be answered in the FULL chapter. Thanks for reading and please don't hate me.


	61. Partners in Crime

The next day, and after coming to the agreement that the answers would be at Adipose Industries, the Doctor and I manoeuvred the Tardis to an area near the building, another alley actually. While I had to get on him about using the hammer again, it was a relatively uneventful flight, minus the Tardis' grumbles of disdain. We entered Adipose Industries through the back door again and settled in a storage room, locking the door with the sonic once inside. Since we had a few hours wait, we figured out a few ways to keep ourselves busy.

When the work day had finished, we snuck out of the room and made our way up to the roof. Although the Doctor tended to just wing things, we had both figured we needed to be somewhere where we could see what was going on without being spotted. At first he wanted to listen through the woman's door, I brought up the roof, saying no one would really be outside her window. Seeing a window cleaner's cradle, we got in and after flipping the switch, were lowered down the building's side. The Doctor stopped the cradle when we reached a little under the level of the office. To avoid being seen, we ducked down as four people entered the room, one being held against her will, the reporter. Reaching into the Doctor's jacket, I pulled out a stethoscope and handed it to him. Placing it onto the window, he listened to the conversation, with me listening to what he was hearing.

"You can't tie me up! What sort of country do you think this is?"

"Oh, it's a beautifully fat country. And believe me, I've travelled a long way to find obesity on this scale."

"So, come on then, Miss Foster, those pills. What are they?"

"Well, you might just as well have a scoop, since you'll never see it printed." The Doctor moved the scope up from the wall to the window. I inched up, my eyes on the woman we now knew was a Miss Foster. In her hand was a small white pill. "This… is the spark of life."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Officially, the capsule attracts all the fat cells and flushes them away," she explained. "Well, it certainly attracts them. That part's true. But it binds the fat together and galvanises it to form a body."

"What do you mean, a 'body'?" I furrowed my brows and thought back to Mister Davey and how he'd lost a kilo by ten past one every day. Then Ms Foster's words hit me. 'The fat just walks away'. So, if the fat cells are bound together to form a body, the body would most likely be what was waking Mr Davey every morning, why he was losing a kilo at the same time every day. Though, I couldn't really understand as to why she was doing it; what was the point of it all.

"I am surprised you never asked about my name. I chose it well. Foster. As in foster mother. And these… are my children." The Doctor joined me in looking through the window, seeing a little white creature. To be honest, it was quite adorable and I couldn't really deny that the diet plan was quite effective, even if it was making little fat creatures. The Doctor nudged me and rolled his eyes at my thoughts. Of course I'd find a little glob of fat cute.

"You're kidding me. I don't… What the hell is that?!" the reporter exclaimed, whether it was in disgust or fear, I wasn't sure.

Miss Foster walked around her desk and lifted the little thing up. "Adipose. It's called… an Adipose… made out of living fat… from people." Well, the name made sense.

"But I don't understand."

"From ordinary human people." My gaze was torn from the scene to see the same ginger we'd passed in the call centre staring at the Doctor wide eyed. Glancing at him, I saw that he too seemed to be shocked. It was obvious to me that they knew each other but as to how, escaped me until the Doctor, sensing my confusion, showed me. Completely disregarding the fact that we were supposed to be hidden in his shock, the man stood to his full height. After some time of them mouthing to each other, the ginger gave two thumbs up.

Glancing from the woman, I saw Miss Foster staring at us, not that either of them noticed. Rolling my eyes at the two before attempting to alert my husband that we'd been caught. "Doctor…" He paid me no mind, much to my irritation. Instead, he continued to 'listen' to what the ginger was saying. The woman, Donna, finally noticed what I had, and that prompted the Doctor to finally see that they were being stared at.

"Are we interrupting you?" Miss Foster asked, clearly irritated.

"Run!"

"Get her." I snatched the sonic from the Doctor's hand and used it on the door, locking Miss Foster's goons in the room and buying Donna some time. "And them." The Doctor then took the sonic from me and pointed it up at the controls. Instantly, the cradle jolted as the Doctor sent it back to the roof. The moment we reached the top, we both jumped out the cradle and rushed down the staircase. Entering the building again, we ran down the stairs, meeting Donna. I watched as the two hugged.

"Oh, my God! I don't believe it! You've even got the same suit! Don't you ever change." She then looked at me. "And I see you've got yourself a companion."

'Companion?' I grimaced at her assumption, not at all appreciating that term being used for me. I was so much more than a companion.

"Yeah, thanks, Donna. Not right now."

"We have guards," I snapped before grabbing the Doctor's arm and dragging him back up the stairs with Donna following close behind us.

"Just like old times," the Doctor chuckled. I couldn't help but smile, seeing that lovely spark return. He had been down for a while, ever since Martha'd left. While I knew he loved having Kie and I around, I was also aware that he wanted a companion around, someone he could ramble on to about things they had no idea about, and ultimately teach them something new. He loved to show off and while he still did so with Kie and me around, it didn't have the same effect as it would humans. While Kie and I could keep up, they would be awe-struck and ultimately impressed.

"'Cause I thought," Donna continued as we reached the roof, "how do you find the Doctor? And then I just thought, 'look for trouble and he'll turn up'."

"Sounds about right," I chuckled as the Doctor soniced the door.

"So I looked everywhere. You name it.-UFOs sightings, crop circles, sea monsters. I looked. I- I found them all. Like that stuff about the bees disappearing-" The Doctor put the sonic in his mouth only for me to pull it out. "I thought, 'I bet he's connected'. 'Cause the thing is, Doctor, I believe it all now. You opened my eyes. All those amazing things out there- I believe them all- well, apart from that replica of the Titanic flying over Buckingham Palace on Christmas Day. I mean, that's got to be a hoax!" The Doctor and I shared a knowing glance before leading her to the window cleaners' cradle.

"What do you mean, the bees are disappearing?" the Doctor questioned as he soniced the controls. It was quite odd, although, there had been a few occurrences where the insects had gone off. With all the pollution, it was probably getting harder for them to continue living on the planet. Still though, it was still a bit weird, at least by human standards.

"I don't know. That's what it says on the internet. But at the same site, there was all these conspiracy theories about Adipose Industries, and I thought, 'let's take a look'."

"In you get," he instructed after sonicing the controls.

"What- in that thing?"

"Yes- in that thing."

"You two sound eerily alike," I stated, earning an annoyed look from them that caused me to laugh. Maybe Donna would do the Doctor some good... although, she was quite loud.

"But if we go down in that, they'll just call us back up again."

"No, no, no, 'cause I've locked the controls with a sonic cage. I'm the only one that can control it- not unless she's got a sonic device of her own, which is very unlikely."

"You just had to say that, didn't you? You just never learn." He ignored my comment and flipped the switch to lower the cradle. A minute or so later, Miss Foster leaned over the roof's edge. The blonde muttered something before she pointed a pen, her own sonic device, at the controls and after sparking a bit, the cradle began to plunge towards the city's sidewalk.

Countering Foster's action before we'd gone too far down, the Doctor soniced the controls on our end and stopped the cradle from plummeting further. "Hold on. Hold on. We can get in through the window." With that thought, he tried to sonic the window open, a feat that was unsuccessful. "Can't get it open!"

"Well, smash it then!" Donna yelled before she grabbed a spanner and began to hit the glass, also to no avail. Glancing up at Miss Foster, I saw her aiming her sonic pen at one of the steel cables, burning it. Donna also looked up and seemed to realise what the woman was doing. "She's cutting the cable!"

Knowing what would come next, I grabbed onto the ginger's hand and placed it on the rail. Before I could get my own grip, the cable snapped and I went flying out of the cradle, barely managing to grab onto the side before hurtling into my next regeneration. "Rys!"

"Doctor!"

"Hold on!"

"What the hell do you think I'm doing? Do you honestly think I'm actually going to let go, you idiot?"

"No need to get testy."

"Fine, you try hanging a hundred ninety feet off the ground," I snapped. While I wasn't afraid of heights, the prospect of falling to my death greatly affected my mood. I had barely gotten time in this body and was hoping to hold onto it. I watched as the Doctor aimed his sonic at Miss Foster's, blasting it from her hand. The Doctor reached for the pen, almost going overboard (something that caused me to panic a bit) as he caught it. Placing it between his teeth, he climbed to another window and grabbed onto the side, using Miss Foster's sonic pen to open it. "If you don't hurry up, you'll be kissing that incarnation goodbye," I screamed as I began to feel my grip slip as the wind pushed me around. "Honestly, you just had to say those stupid words. I'm going to tape your mouth shut next time you even think of saying those words or anything in that general area!"

"We won't be a minute!" the Doctor called down after he'd opened up the window and climbed inside, helping Donna afterwards. I hung onto the railing, doing my best to keep my grip as I mentally cursed him out. He kept his responses apologetic but it did nothing to stop my rant. A moment later, I felt hands on my legs.

"And how the bloody hell is this supposed to work?"

"J-Just let me work." I huffed a breath and let him pull me in, earning a few bruises as he did so. Once inside, I punched his shoulder, putting just enough force to cause him some pain. "Ow! What the hell was that for?"

"I shouldn't have to spell it out. Next time, you can hang twenty seven metres off the ground!"

"All your companions yell at you like that?"

"I am NOT his companion."

Before Donna could say anything, the woman tied to the chair spoke up. "Is anyone going to tell me what's going on?"

"What are you, a journalist?"

"Yes."

"Then, make something up." As we turned around to leave, the journalist called out again. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed Miss Foster's sonic pen and let her free. Leave it to a human to want answers during a high stress situation. Then again, the Doctor did the same, but it was more so he gobbed on to stall our enemies in addition to get information. It was different; he knew what he was doing. "Do yourself a favour and get the hell out."

Leaving the woman, the three of us made our way through the call centre in an attempt to bypass Ms Foster. We came to a stop as we saw that she and her guards had thought ahead and were approaching us. The Doctor instantly took a protective stance, pushing me behind him a bit. I rolled my eyes, going to move but decided not to do so. I knew how he felt about guns, especially after Lucy killed the Master, so I stayed where I was. If they were to actually fire at us, I'd do what I could to keep us from being hit, even if I was basically telling the Doctor that I hadn't actually been honest with him. All I could do was glare at the woman who's eyes met mine for a second. "Well, then…" she removed her glasses, "at last."

Donna waved, " Hello."

"Nice to meet you. I'm the Doctor. She's Rys."

"And I'm Donna."

"Partners in crime. And, evidently, off-worlders, judging by your sonic technology."

"Oh, yes," he started, patting his jacket and reaching into the right pocket. "I've still got your sonic pen." He held it up and Miss Foster returned her glasses to her face. The scowl never left her face, although, it seemed to fit her. "Nice. I like it- sleek." He showed it to Donna and me. "It's… kind of sleek."

"Oh, it's definitely sleek."

"Yeah, and if you were to sign your real name, that would be…"

"Matron Cofelia, of the Five Straighten Classabindi Nursery Fleet, Intergalactic Class," the woman answered. It was quite a name and title. However, she was doing something terribly illegal.

"So, a wet nurse… using humans as surrogates."

"I've been employed by the Adiposian First Family to foster a new generation after their breeding planet was lost."

"What do you mean 'lost'? How do you lose a planet?"

"Oh, politics are none of my concern. I'm just here to take care of the children on behalf of the parents."

"What- like an outer-space super nanny?" I smiled at Donna's analogy. It did seem that the woman was just that, although, she did so much more than just take care of the children.

"Yes, if you like."

"So- so, those little things- they're- they're made out of fat, yeah? But that woman- Stacy Campbell- there was nothing left of her."

"Oh, in a crisis, the Adipose can convert bone and hair and internal organs," the Matron explained nonchalantly. "Makes them a little bit sick- poor things."

Donna scoffed, taking a step forward. "What about poor Stacy?"

I crossed my arms, stepping up next to the Doctor. "You DO know that seeding a level five planet is against the law, right?"

"Are you threatening me?"

I shrugged. It wasn't really much of a threat, just a statement. One would think someone of her calibre was aware of the laws, especially when doing something illegal. Then again, there were a lot of stupid criminals. However, I doubted Ms Foster was one of them, she couldn't be. "We're trying to help you, Matron," the Doctor icily started. "This is your one chance. 'Cause if you don't call this off, then we'll have to stop you."

"I hardly think you can stop bullets." As she said that, the guards then cocked their guns and took aim. Yep, if the Doctor couldn't talk himself out of this one, he'd definitely be furious with me.

"No, no! Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. One more thing before… dying- do you know what happens if you hold two identical sonic devices against each other?"

"No."

"Nor me, although I'm sure Rys knows." He glanced at me and I smirked, not really knowing but having an inkling of what would happen. "Let's find out." He held the two sonics together and they created an awful high pitched noise, causing everyone but the Doctor and me to grab their heads in pain. Nearby, the glass with the company's name shattered and before it could continue for too long, I saw Donna push the Doctor's arm, causing him to stop. Honestly, I think he would have continued on until the humans were rendered unconscious.

"Come on!" she yelled as she turned and took off down the corridor.

Making it down to the basement area, the same area the Doctor and I'd entered, and we led Donna to the same cupboard we'd hid in just hours prior. I hastily began to throw out the ladders and mops to make room for the three of us, even if it would be a bit of a tight fit. The Doctor helped me empty it out, and I heard the clack of Donna's heel as she stepped back to avoid being hit; we weren't really paying attention to where we were tossing the items.

"Well… that's one solution- hiding in a cupboard. I like it."

Passing the Doctor, I moved to the wall and I pressed onto it, causing the panel to open and slide to the left, exposing a large green machine. The Doctor and I had discovered it earlier in the day, and had started to work on it. As I did that, I heard Donna step into the room and shut the door behind her. "We've been hacking into this thing all day, 'cause the matron's got a computer core running through the centre of the building."

"Problem was, it's triple dead-locked," I added, reaching into the Doctor's pocket and pulling out the sonic pen. "But with this, we can get into it." The Doctor and I shared a quick smile before I turned my attention back to the machine, realising something as I continued to work on it. "She's wired up the whole building. Doctor, we need some privacy if we want to finish this. Her lackeys were behind us on the way down." Catching my eye, he nodded and reached above me, connecting two wires and creating a force field that stopped the guards in their tracks, their screams echoing to us.

"Just enough to stop them. Why's she wired up the tower block? What's it all for?" As he asked, I ripped a wire and held both it and the sonic pen up for him. Taking them, he soniced the wire as I stood, brushing myself off. Pulling out my mobile, I called Kie and informed him of the situation only to find that he and Torchwood were aware of it. Smiling to myself, I told them to be ready for a clean up, and that the Doctor and I had things under control, well for the most part. Hanging up, I turned as saw Donna staring at the Doctor as he worked.

"You look older." I chuckled. He looked the same to me, but then again, we'd been traveling for years since she'd last seen him, so I suppose to the human, he seemed to have aged a bit, or looked it.

"Thanks."

"Still on your own or what?"

"Well, no. I had this friend. 'Martha' she was called- Martha Jones. She was brilliant." I couldn't help the smile that formed on my lips. "And I destroyed half her life." I placed a hand on his arm, giving it a bit of a squeeze, an action that went unmissed by the woman. "But she's fine, she's good. She's gone."

"What about Cerys and Rose?"

"Rose's still lost."

"And Cerys?"

Hearing my name, I glanced up at the woman before looking at the Doctor. I raised an eyebrow, questioning him a bit but turned to the ginger. "Hello, Donna. I'm guessing he told you about me?"

"You're Cerys? But- But you're not a brunette."

"Nope." I ran a hand through my hair. It had grown a bit; just about time for a cut. "Just purple."

"So what, you're like him then? A Martian?"

I shot another glance at the Doctor before I shrugged. "I suppose."

"I thought you were going to travel the world?" the Doctor cut in.

"Easier said than done. It's like I had that one day with you, and I was going to change. I was going to do so much." She sighed. "Then I woke up the next morning- same old life. It's like you were never there. And I tried. I did try. I went to Egypt. I was going to go barefoot and everything. And then it's all bus trips and guidebooks and 'don't drink the water', and two weeks later you're back home. It's nothing like being with you." She stopped, taking in a breath. "I must have been mad- turning down that offer."

"What offer?" He must have obviously forgotten he'd asked her to join us, although, at the time he asked, there was a lot going on and a lot had happened since. I couldn't really blame him for his lapse in memory. I would have probably been just as confused.

"To come with you."

"Come with us?"

"Oh yes, please."

"Right."

"Inducer activated."

"What's it doing now?" Donna asked.

"She's started the programme."

"And what's that mean?"

"Up till now they've just been losing weight. But now, the Matron's moved to emergency pathogenesis," I hastily explained as the Doctor and I worked on the machine, trying to stop it.

"And that's when they convert?"

"Skeletons, organs- everything. A million people are going to die! Got to cancel the signal." He reached into my pocket and pulled out the pendent and dismantled it, revealing the wires inside and holding the pendent up for Donna to see. "This contains a primary signal. If I can switch it off, the fat goes back to just being fat," he went on before attaching it to the inducer.

"Inducer increasing."

"No, no, no, no, no! She's doubled it! I need- haven't got time. It's too far. I can't override it. They're all gonna die!" I glanced from him to Donna. She had been in the call centre at the same time as us so she should have a pendent of her own. If that were the case, we'd be able to use it to cancel the signal completely and override the system. However, the Doctor was panicking way too much to think rationally, although, I don't think he'd seen her at the centre. If he had, their reunion would have happened earlier.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Sorry, Donna, this is way beyond you. Got to double the base pulse, I can't…"

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms, shaking my head at him. Of course he would disregard the person who could help him. It was times like this that he had his blinders on, and I usually had to remove them. "Doctor."

"Doctor, tell me- What do you need?"

"I need a second capsule to boost the override, but I've only got this one. I can't save them!" he said in despair as he rushed at the system trying to no avail to rectify the problem. Knowing just how frantic he was, I grabbed onto his face and made him look into my eyes, until he had calmed. When he had, the Doctor rested his forehead against mine, his hand keeping mine pressed against his cheek, and took in a breath. After releasing it, he gave my lips a quick peck.

Releasing him, I turned to Donna, seeing that she held the necklace in her hand, the pendant swinging on its chain and a smug expression on her face. "So, I think Donna has something to show you," I told him, as I nudged him towards her. Glancing from me, he turned to her and finally saw the pendent. Smiling at her, he took it and plugged it in causing the inducer to shut down. After a quick sigh of relief, a loud noise echoed through the air, rumbling the building. "What the hell was that?"

"That, would be the nursery."

Donna turned her attention to me. "Wait a minute. When you say nursery you don't mean a crèche in Notting Hill."

"Nursery ship."

The computer lights then lit up. "Incoming signal." A voice then came through. The Doctor and I stopped and listened. A small smile began to form as I heard what was being said.

"Hadn't we better go and stop them?"

"Hang on. Instructions from the Adiposian First Family."

"She wired up the block to be a levitation post." We were silent for a while, the Doctor and I listening carefully as the voice continued on. "Hold on, we aren't in trouble. She is!" Taking my hand, the Doctor and I rushed out of the cupboard and to the roof with Donna following close behind.

When we reached the roof, my eyes widened at the ship that hovered over us. It was large with its lights practically blinding. The ship was also bringing the Adipose babies into it. I turned to Donna, seeing the expression on her face. She was awestruck by the ship but I could she there was a bit of fear in her eyes. "What are you going to do then? Blow them up?"

"Of course not!" I chastised, upset that she would even think of doing such a thing. They were children for goodness sakes. No child could help where they came from and that was something I knew first-hand, even though I held no ill will to where I was from or where my father was born for that matter. Children should never be punished for their parentage.

"They're just children. They can't help where they come from."

"Oh, that makes a change from last time. That Martha must've done you good."

"She did, yeah. Yeah. She did. She fancied me."

"Yeah, until she learned we were together. Says 'hi' by the way."

"Mad Martha, that one. Blind Martha. Charity Martha," Donna said as an Adipose floated by, waving at us. I smiled and gave it a small wave before snuggling into the Doctor, his arm around my waist. "I'm waving at fat."

"Actually, as a diet plan, it sort of works." "There she is!" As he said that, Miss Foster levitated up, stopping in front of us. "Matron Cofelia, listen to us."

"Oh, I don't think so, Doctor. And if I never see either you again, it'll be too soon."

"Oh, why does no one ever listen. I'm trying to help. Just get across to the roof. Can you shift the levitation beam?"

"What, so that you can just arrest me?"

"You idiot, they know breeding on Earth is a crime," I yelled. "They're want to get rid of their accomplice. They want you gone."

"I'm far more than that. I'm nanny to all these children."

"Exactly! Mum and Dad have got the kids now. They don't need the nanny anymore." The beam suddenly disappeared and her smug expression changed to one of realisation and fear before she fell with a scream. While the Doctor and I watched on, Donna turned into the Doctor just as he hit the concrete. Not a second later, the ship took off into space. With a final glance below, we turned and left the building.

As we walked down Brook street, I gave a forlorn glance at the sonic pen before tossing it into a waste bin. I really needed to take some time to make my own. Passing it, the reporter wobbled along, retied to a chair. I rolled my eyes at the woman. While I could understand the desire to get a story, she was a complete and utter plonker. Upon seeing us, she moved our way. "Oi, you three. You're just mad. Do you hear me? Mad! And I'm going to report you for madness."

"You see, some people just can't take it."

"No."

"And some people can. So, then. Tardis! Come on." The Doctor and I exchanged a quick glance before we followed her into an alleyway behind Adipose Industries. The moment we got there, we saw a little blue, just about Tardis blue, might I add, sitting in front of our home. "That's my car! That is like destiny. And I've been ready for this." She opened the boot and showed it was full of suitcases. "I packed ages ago, just in case. Because I thought, hot weather, cold weather, no weather. He goes anywhere. I've gotta be prepared." She began to unload it, placing things into the Doctor's arms as I chuckled at his expression. He turned to me, not liking that I was laughing at him.

'Stop it. She's not coming.'

'Why not?'

'I'm not ready yet.'

'Theta… I think she'll do us all some good. I know how much you miss having someone to explain things to, having someone to teach.'

'Do you want her to come?'

'I like her. It'll be nice to not be outnumbered anymore. It's been years since there's been another woman on the Tardis.'

'That's a yes.'

I nodded before bursting into laughter, hearing his confusion in my mind. 'You're holding a hatbox.'

He snapped out of his revere and looked down at the item in his hand. "You've got a hatbox."

"Planet of the Hats, I'm ready. I don't need injections, do I? You know, like when you go to Cambodia. Is there any of that? Because my friend Veena went to Bahrain, and she-"

I smiled and interrupted her. "No injections, Donna."

The woman nodded and then looked at the Doctor, seeming to realise that he hadn't said more than a few words since we'd reached the alley. While I knew why, Donna didn't and it seemed to come off as rejection to her. Although, I would have thought he didn't want me around as well if he went all silent. "You're not saying much."

"No, it's just- It's a funny old life, in the Tardis."

"You don't want me."

"He's not saying that. Not at all."

"But you asked me. Would you rather be on your own?"

"No. actually, no. But the last time, with Martha, like I said, it- it got complicated. And that was all my fault." I squeezed his hand in comfort. While Martha had started to fall for the man, when she saw that they were together, she became nothing but a friend. Yet, I also knew he was thinking back the Year-That-Never-Was. He still felt guilty for what had happened to Martha and her family, even if she had told me to tell him that she didn't blame him for what occurred. How were we to know that the Master was around if he were blocking us out? Her understanding was one of the things I adored about her. It was one of the things I tried to convince him about but the man was too stubborn to listen to me. "I just want a mate."

"You just want to mate?" Donna asked incredulously causing me to laugh the hardest I had that day.

"I just want a mate!"

"You're not mating with me, sunshine!"

"A mate. I want A MATE."

"Well, just as well, because I'm not having any of that nonsense. I mean, you're just a long streak of nothing. You know, alien nothing."

"Well then, he's my alien nothing then," I managed to get out in between my laughter.

"There we are, then. Okay."

"I can come?"

"Of course you can," I answered with a large smile. As much as I loved my boys, needless to say, I was so very happy to have another woman on board. It was no fun with the two of them constantly ganging up on me and it would be nice not to be outnumbered.

"I'd love it."

"Oh, that's just-" she stopped, going to hug him but pulled back. "I've still got my mum's car keys. I won't be a minute." With that, she ran off.

While she was away, I helped the Doctor lug her bags into the Tardis. As we did so, I couldn't help but wonder exactly how she fit them in her small vehicle. A while after we finished up, Donna showed up again and walked into the Tardis where the Doctor and I leant against the railing, him holding me to him. "Off we go, then."

Smiling, I pulled away from the Doctor, giving him a quick peck as I moved to the console. The Doctor, on the other hand, walked over to her, holding his arms out. "Here it is. The Tardis. It's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside."

"Oh, I know that bit," Donna said, causing him to pout. I chuckled and moved to him, placing another kiss on his lips. "Although frankly, you could turn the heating up." That solicited an eyeroll from the Doctor.

"So, whole wide universe, where do you want to go?"

"Oh, I know exactly the place."

"Which is?" I questioned, an eyebrow raised. It was a first that a companion knew exactly where they wanted to go, a sign that Donna was brilliant and going to be a wonderful addition to the Tardis.

"Two and a half miles that way." Smiling, the Doctor and I moved to the console and inputted the location.

"Why there?"

"My gramps usually sits there and looks up in his telescope. I told him to look out for you once. For the blue box. I just want him to know that I found it, that I found you." I smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked at me, a soft smile on her lips. Reaching it, Donna ran to the doors, threw them open, and began to wave. The Doctor and I soon joined her and waved along.

After leaving where Donna wanted to go, I touched the Tardis down in front of Torchwood. Telling the two I'd be back, I stepped out and saw Jack and Kie standing by the entrance laughing. It was nice to see them together; they looked and seemed to be the best of friends. I knew that while Kie was extremely capable of taking care of himself, it was nice to have someone in his life who could practically never die, at least not for billions years. Smiling, I walked over, hugging Jack when I reached. "How'd it go?"

"Fine. Thanks for the clean-up."

"One of Torchwood's many services. So, what now?"

"The usual life. There's a new face on the Tardis so a fresh pair of eyes to show the wonders of the universe to. Have to keep that idiot out of too much trouble."

"Just him?"

"Kie isn't that bad… yet. Besides, I'm pretty sure he's sticking around."

"How'd you know?"

"I always know. I'm your mum," I replied as though he was an idiot. "Besides I could tell it from the moment we landed."

"You're not mad?"

I placed my hands on my hips, giving him an icy glare that caused both men to shy away in fear. Seeing that, I began to laugh, telling them that I meant nothing by my glare. Kie scowled while Jack chuckled. "Of course not, you moron. Why would I be mad?"

"I thought you'd want me to stick around with you and dad."

I sighed and nudged him. "I do, but I also want you to do what makes you happy. Besides, this way I could check up on you whenever I want. You're with Jack, one of the best men I'd ever consider leaving you with. So no, I'm not mad. I'll miss you but I'll be seeing you soon."

He hugged me, spinning me around a bit. "Thank you!"

"Oh, stop it. I'm not doing anything big. Besides, I'll be keeping eyes on you. Don't think anything will get past your good ol' mum."

"Course you will. Wouldn't be my mum if you didn't."

I pulled from his hug, a frown on my lips. "You calling me old?" Kie stumbled over his words a bit, trying to assure me that he was just agreeing with what I said. Jack on the other hand was chuckling to himself, knowing exactly what I was doing; he'd been around when I had done the same with the Doctor's ninth incarnation. Kie, finally seeming to realise that I was joking groaned. I joined in on Jack's laughter and hugged Kie again. Pulling from the hug, I moved to Jack, embracing him as well. "Keep him safe, Harkness. If not, I'll kill you."

"Yes, ma'am. Won't let a thing happen to him."

I nodded, although with the things Torchwood took on, I knew that Kie would be in just as much danger as he'd be with us. Still, I knew Jack wouldn't intentionally put Kie in a situation where he would be severely injured. "Stay safe- both of you." Giving each a final squeeze, I walked back to the Tardis. Once inside, I went to the library, to think about what had transpired within the past hours. While I knew I'd miss Kie, I was certain we'd see him soon. Besides, I knew the other reason he wanted to stay… Astrid. I couldn't blame him for that. If the Doctor wanted to, I would have stayed on Earth with him, luckily, he never wanted to stay on one planet too long, even if it was his favourite.

A few hours later, the Doctor joined me, taking a seat behind me and pulling my body towards him. I snuggled into his chest, feeling absolute contentment. While we had temporarily lost Kie, we gained Donna and I knew that the woman would be great for us, for the Doctor. Turning , my head a bit, I placed my lips on the Doctors, pouring my love into it. When I pulled away, I smiled at him. "I'm ready now."

"Huh?" he asked, still dazed from my kiss.

"I'm ready to move in." That instantly snapped him from his daze and without a sound or warning, he jumped to his feet, pulling me with him, and dragged me to his… our room.

* * *

_Hello all. So, it's been a few days since I last posted and I'm really very sorry. I'm trying to come up with a schedule but I have so many plans for the summer and whatnot that I'm slightly swamped. However, I am posting this one... Yay! I want to thank everyone who reviewed, favourited and followed. It means so much to me. With not much else to say, onto the reviews. Oh, and heads up, I'm updating just about all of my chapters (Cerys to Martha). So, if you're interested, be sure to check those chapters out in a few months. Yay! So, I've updated the 'Cerys' chapter. I am planning on changing things around and adding more, so be on the lookout. Also, I know my updates are already sporadic, but I've noticed there aren't enough Hawkeye fic and AoU did shit for him, so I've started one. I'm only a few chapters in but I'll be working on that one for the most part. I WILL be updating Her Secrets, so no worries. I'll just have them at weird times and whatnot. Now, onto the reviews. Thanks for all who commented, followed, and favourited. Oh, and if you're a Dragon Age fan, check out my beta's stories. Her UN is Hawkeing. She's an awesome writer and I think you guys will enjoy her stories. _

_**NicoleR85**: Haha. Yep, Rys is a jealous one. She wasn't meant to be, but with all the women who try to get the Doctor's attention, she has to let them know that he's taken. I was thinking of giving them rings but thought against it, at least for 10 ;)_

_**tardiscompanion101:** Haha I want River and Twelve in an episode as well. It would just be amazing, especially since her time isn't really up in regards to their adventures together. How was their meeting for you? _

_**Squidtastik:** Glad you loved it. _

_**SnowKi:** Here you go :)_

_**margie-me:** Hey, I read all of your reviews and I'm going to send you a PM so I can touch on all of them. Just let me say for your review for chapter 55, THANK YOU SO MUCH. I'll go into it in the PM though._


	62. The Fires of Pompeii

After much debate, we FINALLY decided on where to go, not that the Doctor was very happy with it. While the Doctor gobbed on with Donna, I put in the coordinates. The Doctor and I (mostly me), planned on bringing Donna to Rome, one of my favourite places to visit. I adored the ancient Romans, and it helped that I got on well with the ruler… well, rulers. No matter when we landed, they seemed to have heard stories about me from their predecessor and without meeting me, considered me a trusted advisor. It drove the Doctor mad since once or twice I'd been asked to rule by one of their sides as queen, something that made convincing the Doctor to travel there a bit difficult. Thinking of who the current ruler was, I realised it was Titus and groaned. He was exactly one I wanted to be around; although he had opened up the Coliseum, he was a horrid flirt who couldn't and wouldn't take no for an answer. After realising that I was disgusted by the man, the Doctor took great joy into teasing me about it, only stopping when I threatened to send him into his next regeneration. Hearing where my thoughts had went, the Doctor chuckled, earning a glare and not so nice words from me, which only made him laugh out loud.

Stepping out of the Tardis, I saw we'd landed in a market centre, under a clear sky. It was beautiful as usual and I couldn't help the smile that crossed my lips. As said before, Rome was one of my favourite places to visit. Hand in hand, the Doctor and I watched as Donna walked ahead a bit, taking in her surroundings. "Ancient Rome."

"It's not really ancient for them," I interjected, gesturing to the people around us. He gave my hand a quick squeeze as he pulled me to him, wrapping his arm around my waist before kissing my temple. As he did so, I couldn't help but chuckle at Donna as she rolled her eyes at our display of affection. She'd come up with a rule about it actually, having grown tired of walking in on us being incredibly affectionate a few times. I really couldn't blame her for it, we could be quite... overwhelming... at times.

"Right. To all intents and purposes, right now, this is brand new Rome."

"Oh my god. It's- It's so Roman. This is fantastic." The Doctor and I chuckled at her amazement. I was quite happy we were able to get bring her somewhere that would ultimately be enjoyable, even with the Doctor's track record. Rome was quite amazing, in both its culture and accomplishments, as well as beautiful. "I'm here, in Rome. Donna Noble in Rome. This is just weird. I mean, everyone here's dead."

"Well, don't tell them that."

"Hold on a minute." Donna turned and faced us, her eyes slightly narrowed. "That sign over there's in English," she said, pointing to a painted sign on the side of a barrow. "Are you havin' one on me? Are we in Epcot?"

"It's the Tardis Translation circuits. Makes it look and sound like English," I explained before the Doctor could, remembering just how he'd explained it to Rose and me back in his ninth incarnation as well as his current one; the man had a gob that wouldn't quit, one that often left others even more confused than before. Catching my thoughts, he nudged my side, an act that caused me to chuckle just a bit.

"You're talking Latin right now."

"Seriously?"

"Yep."

"I just said 'seriously' in Latin."

"Oh yeah."

"What if I said something in actual Latin, like 'veni vidi vici'? My dad said that when he came back from football. If I said 'veni vidi vici' to that lot, what would it sound like?"

"I'm not sure. You have to think of difficult questions, don't you?"

"I'm going to try it." As Donna walked off to a fruit seller, I looked around again, feeling as if something wasn't quite right. As if sensing my discomfort, the Doctor pulled me to him, asking what was wrong. Unable to answer him, I shrugged and continued to examine the area, my eyes stopping on one lone mountain. Remembering that Rome had seven of them, my eyes widened in realisation as to where we could be. Before I could say anything to the Doctor, Donna walked over, looking a bit dejected. "How's he mean, Celtic?"

"Welsh. You sound Welsh. There we are. Learnt something," the Doctor said as the three of us continued down the street. As we reached a small table of trinkets, I felt eyes on us. However, when I turned around, I saw nothing but a sea of people and the wave of a red cloak into an alley.

"Don't our clothes look a bit odd?"

"Nah. Ancient Rome, anything goes. It's like Soho, but bigger."

"You've been here before then?"

"Multiple times," I quickly responded. "And yes, before you ask, the fire had everything to do with him."

"Yeah… just a bit. But I haven't got the chance to look around properly, unlike a certain someone," he mumbled, put off by the memories of me off getting a grand tour of the city while he and Kie were off doing whatever they were doing, mostly getting into trouble.

"What was I supposed to do, turn them down each time we visited? That would have been rude."

"What the hell are you two on about?"

"Stories of me have been passed down from ruler to ruler. I'm each king's chief advisor." I wasn't really happy about it, but it was like how the Doctor was-is- in modern day earth- well known and talked about within the inner circle. The only difference was that there was no internet and it was much harder to get information of a violet haired woman to the masses.

"His face says there's somethin' more."

"I might have been asked for my hand on a few occasions…"

"What, so you turned down being the queen?"

"Well, I love that one too much to leave him. Besides, it would have never worked. Rome would have never worked. I've developed a love for travelling and my heart's with that idiot." A goofy grin crossed the Doctor's lips as I said that and he pulled me in for a quick kiss. Pulling away from him, gave Donna another smile.

Donna rolled her eyes at us, a laugh escaping her as she did so. Grinning, the Doctor dragged me along, leaving Donna to follow, at least until he stopped in the middle of the walkway. "Coliseum, Pantheon, Circus Maximus. You'd expect them to be looming by now. Where is everything?" I sighed about to say something when he pulled me down another street. "Try this way."

"Doctor…"

When we exited to a piazza, the single mountain loomed before us. "Not an expert, but there's seven hills of Rome, aren't there? How come they've only got one?" As Donna finished, the ground shook. Around us, people held on to object and tried to catch fragile items to keep them from falling and being destroyed.

"Here we go again," a man stated, indicating this was a regular occurrence and solidifying my fears.

"Wait a minute. One mountain, with smoke. Which makes this…"

"Pompeii," the Doctor realised, glancing at me as he did so. He knew I had worked it out, having informed him just before Donna came to the realisation. His eyes widened in terror and horror as realisation hit him. "We're in Pompeii. And it's volcano day."

Being fully aware of where we were, the three of us took off for the Tardis. The Doctor and I were intent on getting away, knowing we could do nothing to change what was going to happen the next day. It was a fixed point in time and there was no way we could interfere with what was to happen. As we ran, Donna questioned us, barely receiving a straight answer in return. I didn't have the heart to tell her that we couldn't do anything or save anyone. History just had to play out without interference.

Reaching where we had parked the Tardis, we found it nowhere in sight. I groaned, knowing since I had piloted her, I'd never hear the end of it from the Doctor and it would probably be years before he actually let me fly her again. I could already hear him in my mind, going on about the disappearance of our home. It was something I really didn't want to hear, but would continue to do so since he wanted me to know how just how upset he was. There was also the fact that I'd most likely get it from the Tardis, something I was definitely not looking forward to; dealing with the Doctor was a lot better than our girl. At least he could be placated.

"You're kidding. You're not telling me the Tardis has gone," Donna exclaimed, looking at us, worried our transport was gone.

I met her gaze for a moment before turning away. "All right."

"Where is it then?"

"You did tell us not to tell you."

The woman's head snapped to me. "Oi. Don't get clever in Latin."

"Hold on." The Doctor walked off to a man selling fruit. They had a conversation that seemed to leave him more annoyed. The Doctor began to make his way back to us, then froze, curiosity rolling off of him. He must have thought of something, because he made his way back to the fruit vendor.

As they talked, I realized I was actually FEELING his emotions again. After so long without being able to, the sensation was foreign. Still, it seemed to confirm a suspicion I had; the niggling feeling in the back of my mind. A small smile played on my lips as I realised that we were closer to being fully bound again.

When the Time Lord finally joined us, he informed Donna that we were looking for Foss Street. With instructions to reconvene in our current location a few minutes later, the three of us split up. The street wasn't easy to find but when Donna finally came across it, she yelled out to us, drawing not only our attention but the attention of bystanders. Ignoring them, the Doctor and I raced to her and smiled, happy that we were one step closer to reaching our beloved home.

As we walked down Foss Street, Donna stopped and grabbed my arm. "Well, I found this big sort of amphitheatre thing. We can start there. We can gather everyone together. Maybe they've got a great big bell or something we could ring. Have they invented bells yet?" I sighed, knowing where her thoughts were going. Unfortunately the Doctor didn't.

"What do you want a bell for?"

"To warn everyone," Donna replied as if the Doctor were stupid. "Start the evacuation. What time does Vesuvius erupt? When's it due?"

"Donna-"

The Doctor interrupted me. "It's 79AD, twenty third of August, which makes volcano day tomorrow."

"Plenty of time. We could get everyone out easy."

"No, Donna, we can't."

"But that's what you do. You're the Doctor. You save people."

"Not this time."

Donna's head cocked to the side, not seeming to understand. I sighed and began to explain things to her. "Pompeii is a fixed point in history. What happens, happens. There is no stopping it."

"Says who?"

"Says us."

"What, and you're in charge?" the woman scoffed.

"Tardis, Time Lord, yeah."

"Donna, human, no. I don't need your permission. I'll tell them myself."

I could feel his annoyance and it fuelled my own. I couldn't say anything really. I understood where she was coming from, that she wanted to save lives. Yet with this being a fixed point in time, it was impossible to do anything without facing the repercussions. That was something she didn't understand. Then again, she was only human. It wasn't her fault. "You stand in the market place announcing the end of the world, they'll just think you're a mad old soothsayer. Now, come on. Tardis. We are getting out of here."

"Well, I might just have something to say about that, Spaceman."

"Oh, I bet you will."

Rolling my eyes at the two, I grabbed both their arms and dragged them down Foss Street, ignoring Donna's yells of protest. There was no way in hell I was going to allow them to keep bickering about something none of us had control over and I was not going to let her guilt him into defying the laws that were put in place by our, more so his, people.

An earthquake rumbled through the town as we reached the specified villa. Rushing inside, the Doctor managed to catch a marble bust that the older man had failed to reach before it crashed to the floor. "Whoa! There you go."

"Thank you, kind sir. I'm afraid business is closed for the day. I'm expecting a visitor."

"But that's me, I'm a visitor. Hello." I rolled my eyes at him, a small smile on my lips.

"Who are you?"

"I am Spartacus."

"And so am I," Donna quickly interjected. The Doctor and I glanced at her, me more amused than anything.

"Mister and Mrs Spartacus and your... daughter?" I stared at the man, wide eyed. Did I really look like I could be my husband's daughter? The thought was just- it was- I couldn't even comprehend it. Was it the hair? It had to be the hair. Right?

_'Definitely the hair.'_

_'Shut. Up.'_

Donna and the Doctor stared at each other in horror. "Oh no, no, no. We're not, we're not married."

"We're NOT together."

"Rys here's my wife," the Doctor grabbed a firm hold onto my waist, as if to prove a point.

"Oh, the brother and sister," the man said, pointing between the Doctor and Donna, as if it were something completely obvious. "Yes, of course. You look very much alike."

"Really?" the two said in unison as I openly laughed.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not open for trade."

Laughter gone, I raised an eyebrow. "And that would be?"

"Marble," the man proudly stated. "Lopus Caecilius. Mining, polishing and design thereof. If you want marble, I'm your man."

"That's good. That's good, because I'm the marble inspector." He flashed the psychic paper at the man, causing the woman I assumed to be his wife to gasp.

"By the gods of commerce, an inspection. I'm sorry, sir. I do apologise for my son." The woman quickly made her way to the boy lounging at a fountain in the centre of the room with a goblet in his hand and poured it out.

"Oi."

The woman then moved to stand by Caecilius. "And this is my good wife, Metella. I must confess, we're not prepared for a-"

"Nothing to worry about. I'm, I'm sure you've nothing to hide. Although, frankly, that object," the Doctor said, pointing to the Tardis, "looks rather like wood to me."

"I told you to get rid of it," Metella hissed at her husband.

"I only bought it today."

The Doctor shrugged. "Ah, well. Caveat emptor."

"Oh, you're Celtic. There's lovely."

"I'm sure it's fine, but I might have to take it off your hands for a proper inspection."

"Although," Donna interjected, pushing her way beside the Doctor, "while we're here, wouldn't you recommend a holiday, Spartacus?"

I looked at the woman, slightly peeved. While I had a few things I wanted to say, some not so nice, it was the Doctor who spoke. "Don't know what you mean, Spartacus."

"Oh, this lovely family. Mother and father and son. Don't you think they should get out of town?"

"Why should we do that?"

"Well, the volcano, for starters." I shared a glance with the Doctor.

"What?"

"Volcano."

"What-ano?" Caecilius questioned. He, along with his wife were horribly confused, as they should be. The word hadn't even been invented yet for goodness sakes.

"The great big volcano right on your doorstep."

Ok, that was enough. I grabbed the woman's arm and pulled her to the alter. "Oh, Spartacus, we have yet to greet the household gods," I called over my shoulder as an excuse to speak more privately.

Catching on, the Doctor dipped his hand in the water, sprinkling it on the marble, and motioned for Donna to follow suit.

"They don't know what it is. Vesuvius is just a mountain to them. The top hasn't blown off yet. The Romans haven't even got a word for volcano. Not until tomorrow."

"Oh, great, they can learn a new word as they die."

"Please stop it, Donna," I practically begged. The woman turned her attention to me, her angry expression softening just a bit.

"How can you stand it?" she softly questioned. "How can you just let them die? You're supposed to make him better but you aren't. You aren't doing a thing. You're just letting him leave. You're letting him kill them. What about the children?"

Tears began to well in my eyes as her words resonated with me. I'd seen so much death. The death of a child, the most innocent of beings, always affected me most, and many children would die today. Of course I wanted to do something. Of course I wanted to save them. But that would be against one of the only laws I ever truly followed.

Any attempt to change things would lead to a paradox, so nothing could be changed; not really. The tears fell. I turned away to keep the others from noticing, but the Doctor knew. He ALWAYS knew. "That's enough, Donna."

The woman faced him. "Listen, I don't know what sort of kids you've been flying 'round with in outer space, but you're not telling me to shut up. That boy, how old is he, sixteen? And tomorrow he burns to death."

"And that's my fault?"

"Right now? Yes."

Before the Doctor and I could get another word in, a man spoke. "Announcing Lucius Petrus Dextrus, Chief Augur of the City Government."

The three of us turned to see a middle aged man wearing a cloak that covered the right half of his body enter the room. He had squirrelly eyes and greying brown hair. As I watched him, I couldn't help the feeling that washed over me. There was something wrong with him, so very wrong.

Based on the way Caecilius rushed to greet the newcomer, he didn't notice anything strange. Then again, he was human. "Lucius. My pleasure, as always."

"Quintus, stand up," Metella ordered her son. The boy groaned and grudgingly stood. It was obvious he really didn't care much for the visitor.

"A rare and great honour, sir, for you to come to my house." Caecilius held out his hand but it is ignored by Lucius.

"The birds are flying north, and the wind is in the west."

Caecilius had confusion written on his face for a moment before he covered it up with a smile. "Quite. Absolutely. That's good, isn't it?"

"Only the grain of wheat knows where it will grow."

"There now, Metella. Have you ever heard such wisdom?"

"Never. It's an honour."

"Pardon me, sir. I have guests. This is Rys, Spartacus, and, er, Spartacus," Caecilius hastily introduced, as if for a moment we were forgotten and then remembered.

"A name is but a cloud upon a summer wind."

The Doctor nudged me, a smile on his lips. I rolled my eyes at him. It seemed that every time a situation presented itself, the man wanted me to be the one to speak up. It had started in his ninth incarnation and seemed to have carried over. I suppose he thought he still had a point to prove. Still, I decided to humour him. "But the wind is felt most keenly in the dark."

Lucius looked surprised by my words but his expression quickly became stone-faced. "Ah. But what is the dark, other than an omen of the sun?"

This time I nudged the Doctor. If he thought I was going to continue this battle of wits on my own, he was highly mistaken. Besides, he's damn hot when he's clever. "I concede that every sun must set." Lucius barked out a laugh, but the Doctor didn't let the interruption cut off his point, "And yet the son of the father must also rise."

"Damn. Very clever, sir. Evidently a man of learning."

"Oh yes. But don't mind me. Don't want to disturb the status quo." I rolled my eyes. The man was usually the first to do so.

"He's Celtic," Caecilius explained.

"We'll be off in a minute."

"I'm not going," Donna said defiantly, placing her hand on her hips.

I inwardly groaned. That woman was obviously going to make this as difficult as possible. She didn't understand. Now that I thought about it, it was somewhat our fault for not explaining time travel to her in the beginning. Still, the fact that she didn't take the time to ask herself why we were so adamant about leaving Pompeii irritated me. And we already told her that Pompeii was a fixed point in time. That much should have been simple enough to comprehend.

Behind us, Caecilius spoke to his honoured guest, not aware to the conversation we were having. "It's ready, sir."

"We have to, Donna."

"Well, I'm not."

_'She's a difficult one.'_

_'Yeah.'_

_'She just doesn't understand the laws of time. Her heart's in the right place, though.'_

_'Just bring her to the Tardis, please.'_

The Doctor began to walk off, leaving me to drag Donna to the Tardis.

As I did so, Caecillius removed a curtain and revealed a stone tile carved as a circuit board. "The moment of revelation. And here it is."

I stopped and stared at it in shock, wondering how anyone of the time could have thought of such a design. It was apparent the Doctor thought so as well. In my lax state, Donna managed to pull from my grasp.

'What the hell?'

"Exactly as you specified. It pleases you, sir?"

"As the rain pleases the soil," was Lucius' response.

The three of us walked over to the tile, the Doctor in his brainy specs examining it meticulously. "Oh, now that's different, isn't it Rys?."

"Yep." I crossed my arms and turned to Caecilius. "I'm wondering who came up with the design."

"My Lord Lucius was very specific."

Looking up from the slab of marble, the Doctor glanced at Lucius. "Where'd you get the pattern?"

"On the rain and mist and wind."

"But that looks like a circuit," Donna said as I moved my gaze from the tile to Lucius. The feeling I had about him continued to grow the longer we were in his presence. Why would the man need a circuit? There was nowhere he could use it, and it definitely wasn't for aesthetic purposes, and it certainly wouldn't fit into any computer I'd seen. Whatever he had the circuit made for, it was massive.

"Made of stone."

"Do you mean you just dreamt that thing up?"

Lucius nodded, seeming to look down on Donna. "That's my job, as City Augur."

"What's that then, like the mayor?"

The Doctor laughed. "You must excuse our friend, she's from Barcelona."

"Donna," I whispered to the ginger woman, "this is a time of official superstition. The Augur is paid to tell the future."

"She's right. The wind will blow from the west? That's the equivalent of ten o'clock news."

A pale and sickly young woman entered the room. Before I could go to her side to help her to a seat, the Doctor grabbed hold of my hand. "They're laughing at us. Those three, they use words like tricksters. They're mocking us."

"We aren't, I swear. We meant no offence."

"I'm sorry. My daughter's been consuming the vapours."

"Consuming the vapours?" I questioned, more so to the Doctor who shrugged in reply. There were multiple cultures who consumed various things to create a spiritual atmosphere but those who did never looked sick or had any real adverse effects since they knew what they were doing. Whatever this young woman was consuming, it was making her ill.

"Oh for gods' sake, Mother. What have you been doing to her?"

"Not now, Quintus."

"Yeah, but she's sick," Quintus continued, obviously upset with what his sister was going through. He cared about her, and it was evident that his mother's flippant attitude irritated him more. "Just look at her."

I pulled from the Doctor and went to where the girl sat. Kneeling down before her, I examined her the best I could. It was quite difficult considering I couldn't use the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. It would raise too many questions from too many people, and leave me exhausted. No, a cursory exam would have to suffice. "What's happened?"

Before she could answer, if she actually was going to, Lucius spoke up. "I gather I have a rival in this household. Another with the gift."

"Oh, she's been promised to the Sibylline Sisterhood," Metella proudly told the man. "They say she has remarkable visions."

"The prophecies of women are limited and dull. Only the menfolk have the capacity for true perception."

I turned to him, glaring. Yet, before I could say anything, Donna spoke up. "I'll tell you where the wind's blowing right now, mate." I nodded in agreement as there was a small tremor.

"The Mountain God marks your words. I'd be careful, if I were you."

I rolled my eyes and turned back to the young woman. "Consuming the vapours?" The Doctor came and squatted beside me.

The young woman weakly nodded. "They give me strength."

"It doesn't look like it to me."

"Is that your opinion as a doctor?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Doctor. That's your name." The Doctor and I shared a glance, knowing there was o way the young girl could have that knowledge. "And yours is the Destroyer but you call yourself Cerys." My eyes widened. No one but our enemies knew me by that name and I did my damned best to keep that from surfacing, especially around companions. Whatever was in Pompeii knew about me, and most likely what I'd done and that scared me more than anything.

"How do you know that?"

She ignored his question and turned her attention to Donna. "And you. You call yourself Noble."

"Now then, Evelina. Don't be rude."

The Doctor immediately hushed Metella. He was more curious than ever and there was no way he'd pass up such an opportunity for knowledge. It was something that would get him into more trouble than he'd be able to get himself out of. "No, no, no, no. Let her talk."

"You come from so far away."

"The female soothsayer is inclined to invent all sorts of vagaries."

"Oh, not this time, Lucius. No, I reckon you've been out-soothsaid."

I nudged him. That was exactly the challenge I did not want to be made. Whatever was being ingested in Pompeii, it seemed to give the soothsayers actual knowledge of things they should never have known, and whatever was in the vapours was the cause. "Is that so, man and woman from Gallifrey?"

"What?"

"The strangest of images. Your home is lost in fire, is it not?" I grimaced, grabbing the Doctor's hand for comfort. I didn't want to think about Gallifrey, not about the war, and not about what it became. The war was still too much and I refused to dwell on it longer than what was necessary. I just wanted to enjoy the time I had with my love, my child, and our friends.

"Doctor, Rys, what are they doing?"

"And you, daughter of London."

"How does he know that?"

"This is the gift of Pompeii. Every single oracle tells the truth."

"That's impossible."

"Rys, she is returning."

The Doctor and I shared a glance, entirely confused by what the man was saying. "Who is? Who's she?" Instead of answering the Doctor's question, Lucius turned to Donna.

"And you, daughter of London. There's something on your back."

Freaking out, Donna's hands instantly went to her back as she tried to feel if anything was there. "What's that mean?" Though she tried, there was nothing occupying that space of her body.

"Even the names Doctor and Cerys are false," the girl spoke. Your real names are hidden. They burn in the stars, in the Cascade of Medusa herself. You are a Lord and Lady. A Lord and Lady of Time." Evelina fainted, exhaustion and her illness finally taking her. I had grasped onto her before she'd hit the floor and her mother rushed over to help me, crying out the girl's name. Donna and I helped the woman as she brought the girl to her room.

Once the girl was placed in her bed, I turned to Metella. It was obvious she aided in her daughter's illness and that was something that didn't sit well with me. In fact, it disgusted me. How could any parent intentionally do anything to bring harm to their child? I couldn't even imagine putting Kie through anything that would hurt him, not that he'd let me but still. He was my baby, and to harm him or have any detriment come to him would kill me in the end. I wouldn't be able to live with it. "What happened to her arm?"

The woman looked at me before sighing. "She didn't mean to be rude. She's ever such a good girl. But when the gods speak through her…"

"But what's wrong with her arm?" Donna interrupted.

"An irritation of the skin. She never complains, bless her. We bathe it in olive oil every night."

Donna turned to me. "What is it?"

My expression hardened as I stared at the older woman. Without sparing Donna a glance, I shrugged. Again, Metella sighed, this time, caressing her daughter's face as she did so. I could see that she cared for her daughter, but that did nothing to ebb my current dislike of her. "Evelina said you'd come from far away. Please, have you ever seen anything like it?"

Donna stroked the rash, coming to a realisation. "It's stone."

"Yep. And she's been inhaling it in the vapours."

"But the vapours are good. They give Evelina her sight. She's promised to the Sibylline Sisterhood."

Irritated that the woman didn't seem to understand that the vapours were the cause of her illness, and unable to be her presence any longer, I left the room and went to where the Doctor had remained. He was speaking to Caecilius and when I reached his side, he pulled me to him and rested his chin atop my head, his arms wrapped around my waist. Kissing my temple, he moved to the hypocaust and removed the grill. Giving Caecilius a small, but strained smile, I joined the Doctor by the hypocaust. It was quite unusual for the time.

"Different sort of hypocaust?"

"Oh, yes. We're very advanced in Pompeii. In Rome, they're still using the old wood-burning furnaces, but we've got hot springs, leading from Vesuvius itself."

"Who thought that up?"

"The soothsayers, after the great earthquake, seventeen years ago. An awful lot of damage. But we rebuilt."

"Didn't you think of moving away? Oh no, then again, San Francisco."

Caecilius gave the Doctor a confused smile. "That's a new restaurant in Naples, isn't it?"

I shook my head and looked around as there was a growl. "What's that noise?"

"Don't know. Happens all the time. They say the gods of the Underworld are stirring."

"Was it after the earthquake that the soothsayers began making sense?"

"Oh, yes, very much so. I mean, they'd always been, shall we say, imprecise? But then the soothsayers, the augurs, the haruspex, all of them, they saw the truth again and again. It's quite amazing. They can predict crops and rainfall with absolute precision."

"Haven't they said anything about tomorrow?" I glared at the Doctor. I was really hoping he wasn't going to actually try to hint to the eruption or even mention it. Hopefully it was just curiosity, especially since he knew better.

"No. why, should they? Why do you ask?"

"No, no. No reason. I'm just asking. But the soothsayers, they all consume the vapours, yeah?"

"That's how they see."

"Ipso facto."

"Look you."

I reached down and grabbed a handful of ash. Holding it up, I showed the Doctor, letting it trickle into his hand. "They're all consuming this."

"Dust."

"Rock particles. They're breathing in Vesuvius." Getting up, the Doctor and I left Caecilius and went to where Quintus was lounging on a couch, drinking.

"Looking a bit tired there, Quintus?" The young man looked away, taking another sip of his drink. "No need to pretend that you've been drinking heavily. It's obvious you haven't been."

The young man stared at me, his eyes wide that his act had been seen through. "How did you know?"

I shrugged, smiling at Doctor, however, decided to place his hand on the boy's shoulder, moving his attention from me. "Quintus, me old son. That Lucius Petrus Dextrus. Where does he live?"

"It's nothing to do with me."

"Aw, come on, Quintus."

"Let me try again. This Lucius Petrus Dextrus." He produced a gold coin from behind Quintus' ear. The young man stared at the coin longingly before glancing at the Doctor and me. "Where does he live?"

* * *

_12/07/2015_

_So, while I was supposed to update on the above date but as we can all see, it's been a bloody month. I'm sooo very sorry for the long wait. I've been dealing with some things as of late and haven't really been writing. It's been like a sentence or such every so often. With things being the way they are in my life at the moment, I'll have some free time so I'll be able to update AT LEAST once a week, although forgive me if it goes a bit longer. I'll try not to make it pass two weeks. Thanks to everyone who stayed with the story. Those who favourited, followed and reviewed, I'm so grateful. Now, to get this chapter posted, off to the reviews. _

_**NicoleR85:** So glad you enjoyed the chapter. I'm sorry for the super late update. I hope you like this one as well. _

_**Squidtastk:** Love Donna as well. I would pay so much money to see Nine and her together. Honestly, it would be amazing. So glad you're enjoying the story. ]_

_**tardiscompanion101:** Thanks. I promise we'll definitely being seeing more of Kie. He's not allowed to disappear or else Rys would be extremely angry. No one wants an angry Rys after them, trust me. _

_**margie-me:**Thank you. Yeah, same here. Honestly, Donna's exactly what the Doctor needs in his life. _

**_PS: Sorry for how I made it seem that Rys didn't like Donna. She does, but for the sake of the episode, and the fact Rys is looking at things from a Time Lady perspective, it's just how she feels about the ging in that moment. _**


	63. The Decision

_See bold at bottom please. _

* * *

Once the three of us had concocted a plan with Quintus, I managed to sneak into the Tardis. Taking the time to myself, I decided to check on Kie and the Torchwood team. Unfortunately, I was barely able to speak to him as Owen quickly snatched the phone and took over the conversation, telling me everything they'd been up to, even that he and Kie had gotten into it when Astrid had visited the Hub. I couldn't help but laugh as Kie protested in the background, going on about how he didn't want me to know about that incident. When the phone was returned to Kie, I teased him a bit before actually asking how everything was. After learning he was fine and Astrid and Mr Cooper had adjusted wonderfully to 21st Century life, I spoke to Jack a bit, knowing if anything, I was going to get the whole truth from the man more than the other two. After getting all my information, I sent my love and ended the call.

With nothing else to really do, I moved to the library. Entering the beautiful room, I realised that I hadn't really spent any time in there since Martha'd left. Between the constant adventures with the boys and having moped around for a while, I hadn't really had the time or desire. Then again, it was a slight reminder of old times, when Rose was around. Pushing away the negative thoughts, I grabbed an Agatha Christie book and sat down in my favourite spot in front of the fire. Finishing it up, I placed the book back in its spot in the bookcase and left the library, patting the door as I did so. With a few more hours to kill, I made my way to my old room and collapsed onto the bed, letting my thoughts take over. They weren't too bad, just thoughts about the Doctor and our new companion. There was the stray thoughts of Kie but after speaking to him, I knew he was fine and knowing him, he would always be, especially with Jack looking after him.

My thoughts then moved to Donna. She wasn't really like any of the companions he'd taken on before, not really. While most hadn't often told him off like she has, they have been vocal on their opinions. Donna, on the other hand was extremely vocal about her disdain. It was something I understood, and after seeing the Doctor's memories of his meeting her, I could understand that was just how she was, Donna Noble, always shouting at the world. She didn't want to be ignored, she made it impossible for one to do so. I couldn't help but wonder exactly why that was but before I could ponder upon it more, the Doctor called out to me, telling me that it was time to go. Sighing, I pulled myself from the canopy bed and made my way through the Tardis. With a quick peek out, I snuck out of the ship and joined the Doctor and Quintus.

As we slinked through the dark and empty street, the Doctor and I closely followed Quintus to Lucius' villa. The entire walk, I couldn't help but feel that something was going to go wrong. Then again, it was a normal feeling being with the Doctor. He was just a trouble magnet, always was and he always will be. Catching my thoughts, he turned and pouted at me. It didn't last long as his pout turned into a cheesy grin as I gave him a chaste kiss. I couldn't help but chuckle as Quintus groaned, an action that reminded me of Kie. Thinking of him, I could see him and Quintus getting along swimmingly.

"Don't tell my Dad."

I chuckled but followed the Doctor up to a window. I watched as he jumped up to it and opened the shutter. "Only if you don't tell ours." I rolled my eyes as he went inside and leaned out. "Pass me that torch." Quintus handed it to him and once the Doctor was out of the way, I climbed inside, followed by the younger boy. Looking around the room, I couldn't help but notice the hypocaust that sat in the centre. It glowed red with a heat that encased the area, casting an ominous glow to the otherwise darkened room. As the Doctor glanced around, I moved to a curtain covered wall and pulled it down. My curiosity revealed various marble tiles with different designs. It was quite obvious that Lucius had been making rounds to all those involved with marble, although what he planned on doing with the tiles escaped me at the moment.

"The liar," Quintus breathed as he and the Doctor came to stand beside me. I could hear the Doctor's thoughts filtering into my mind as he examined each piece with a critical eye. "He told my father it was the only one."

"Well, plenty of marble merchants in this town. Tell them all the same thing, get all the components from different places, no one can see what you're building."

"Which is what?"

"The future, Doctor." The three of us turned to face the man who had spoken and ultimately caught us sneaking about in his villa. "We are building the future, as dictated by the gods."

I rolled my eyes at the man and turned back to the wall, mentally rearranging each piece. While it's function wasn't familiar, the design was. It was obviously a circuit board. The Doctor, either coming to the same conclusion as I had, or figuring it out himself, had moved forward and began to rearrange each tile. It was quite a turn on watching the man move the heavy slabs of stone, although I made sure to keep those thoughts under control. No need to have them filter and have the Doctor falter and hurt himself. Leaving those thoughts, I watched as he finished and turned to Lucius, questioning the man. Lucius however, seemed completely unfazed by his comment and in turn, replied with his own.

"What, the great City Augur doesn't know," I scoffed. From the moment I met the man, I disliked him, having immediately felt uneasy being in his presence. There was a feeling that he was part of something bigger than what we saw before us, that he seemed to feel that importance, hell, even the comment he made about women, he was ultimately a gigantic dick.

The Augur glared at me, and if looks could kill, I'd be working on my next regeneration. "The seed may float on the breeze in any direction."

"Yeah, I knew you were going to say that. But, it's an energy converter."

"An energy converter of what?"

"I don't know. Isn't it brilliant? I love not knowing. Keeps me on my toes. It must be awful being a prophet, waking up every morning, is it raining? Yes, it is, I said so. Takes all the fun out of life. But who designed this, Lucius, hmm? Who gave you these instructions?"

"I think you've babbled enough." Obviously the Doctor had hit on something that Lucius didn't want us to know. While the man's face betrayed nothing, his words did and that was particularly a blessing. The two of us were able to get most information by observing but it was actually talking that got us the meat of it all.

"Lucius, really, tell me. Honestly, I'm on your side. We can help."

"You insult the gods. There can only be one sentence. At arms." The guards drew their short swords and inched towards us. I groaned, irritated that armed men were approaching us. Why the hell was it always violence? Sighing, and steeling myself, I pushed Quintus behind me, hoping that if anything, the boy would be smart enough to get out before he ended up getting hurt.

"Oh, morituri te salutant."

"Celtic prayers won't help you now."

"But it was them, sir," the boy cried out from behind me. "They made me do it. Mister Dextrus, please don't."

I rolled my eyes at the snivelling boy. Of course, it was to be expected since he was still a child. However, some dignity should be held. Honestly, this was a moment I wished Kie were with us. The Doctor, seemed to also share my thoughts. "Come on now, Quintus, dignity in death. I respect your victory, Lucius. Shake on it? Come on. Dying man's wish?" While Lucius blankly stared at him, the Doctor rushed forward and grabbed his hidden right arm and pulled. Shortly after there was a cracking sound and Lucius groaned. My eyebrows shot up in confusion and amazement as the Doctor held the man's arm in his hand, staring down at it. It was a sight, to see a man's whose arm had turned to stone for some unknown reason was surprising. Yet, I couldn't help but think it to be connected to the people consuming the vapours.

"But he's…"

"Show us."

The City Augur threw back his cloak, showing us that his entire right side had been calcified. It was incredibly intriguing. "The works of the gods."

"He's stone."

"Armless," he began, causing me to groan as I thought back to his ninth incarnation. He had said the same thing and it was corny then just as it currently was; it wasn't funny then and it certainly wasn't at the moment, or would it ever be. He cast me a stony glare before turning back to Lucius, "enough, though. Whoops." He threw the arm at Lucius who barely caught the flying appendage. "Quintus!" I watched as the boy tossed the torch at a guard as the Doctor soniced the circuit boards, causing them to fall to the floor in disarray. With that done, he legged it out the window, with Quintus following closely behind. I tossed Lucius and his guards a cheeky grin before I joined the men outside.

When on the streets, we took off running, and continued on even with the Doctor's unnecessary order to do so. Quintus ended up taking the lead as he manoeuvred us through the winding Pompeii streets. He did this for a good fifteen minutes before he stopped and began to force air into his lungs. The Doctor did so as well as he bent over, resting his hands on his knees. While the two had taken off like mad men, I had paced myself, going a bit slower than them but also regulating my breathing. So as I came up beside the two, I earned glares from them both, which, I returned with a smile, knowing that would cause a slight bit of irritation for my husband.

"No sign of them. Nice little bit of allons-y. I think we're all right."

"Really, must you have said that? Have you not learned your lesson from before?" I slapped the back of his head. He cringed, and quickly moved out of slapping range in case I decided to hit him again, not that I would. The rule was always one slap per stupid comment he made. Quintus on the other hand chuckled a bit, stopping when the Doctor glared at him.

"But his arm, Doctor and Rys. Is that's what's happening to Evelina?"

I glanced away, automatically giving the boy his answer. Before I could actually say something though, a low but loud rumble echoed through the streets, causing stands to lose some of its items and dogs to bark. "What was that?"

More rumbles followed and Quintus moved closer to my side. "The mountain?"

As the reverberations continued in a rhythmical pattern, I shook my head. "Can't be. It's moving towards us."

Things began to fall over as the ground violently shook. "Footsteps."

"It can't be."

"Footsteps underground."

"What is it? What is it?" Ignoring the kid's question and realising that the footsteps were getting closer with each boom, I grabbed each of their hands (something the Doctor grumbled about being his thing), I pulled down the street, watching as the grills of hypocaust vents blew as we ran pass. I cared little about that; I was more interested in getting back to the villa and getting Quintus to relative safety. I don't think I would have forgiven myself if the boy had gotten hurt.

When we finally reached the villa, Metella and Caecilius were frantically trying to discover the origin of the reverberations. It seemed as if whatever had followed us knew where we would go and decided to meet us there. At least, if it hadn't already been there. Groaning out loud, I rushed to the middle of the room and waited for the creature to meet us topside.

With the eruption of noises, Donna rushed out of a room and joined us, asking what was going on. When the Doctor answered, I rolled my eyes and corrected him, telling him that we were being followed. As I finished up, the hypocaust grill blew off. Although the Doctor yelled at them to get out, everyone continued to stand around and stare as the floor around the hypocaust cracked, you know, like rational people tend to do. I quickly moved out of the way as it did, and not a moment later, a stone and fire creature appeared. Coming to its full height, it just nearly touched the ceiling. I couldn't help but stare at it in awe, and not much to my surprise, the Doctor was as well. It was Evelina's voice that shook the Doctor and me from my trance.

"Water. We need water. Quintus. All of you, get water. Donna!"

As Quintus rushed to retrieve water, a servant made his way to the creature. "Blessed are we to see the gods." I moved to pull him back but before I could get close enough, the stone being breathed on the man and turned him into nothing but ash. I shook my head in sadness. To be honest, I hated visiting places of high superstition. It never ended well for believers and what happened to the servant was a prime example of the dangers of it all. Knowing there was nothing I could do, I turned to the creature, determined to learn what it was, to try and save the remaining people in the room.

"Talk to me. That's all I want. Talk to me. Tell me who you are." The creature turned from the Doctor to the others in the room. "Don't hurt these people." Seeming to understand, it brought its attention back to the Doctor. As he spoke, I moved around to the fountain, emptied a vase and scooped up some out and moved towards the being. Quintus and another man returned to the room, buckets in hand and the three of us threw it onto the creature. Instantly, its fire was extinguished and it solidified before cracking and crumbling onto the floor. Letting out a sigh, I placed the vase onto the ground and gave Quintus a pat on the back.

"What was that?"

"Carapace of stone, held together by internal magma. Not too difficult to stop, but I reckon that's just the foot soldier."

"Doctor, or whatever your name is, you bring bad luck on this house.

"You know," I began, whirling to face the woman who due to the circumstances I didn't particularly care for, "I thought your son was dazzling. I mean, he did save our lives. Aren't you going to thank him?" With my comment, she raced to Quintus and embraced him. As she did that, I moved to the Doctor.

"Still, if there are aliens at work in Pompeii, it's a good thing we stayed." I nodded in agreement. "Right Donna?" I furrowed my brows and glanced around, not seeing her anywhere. By now she'd have said something, inquired about the creature or the safety of the people; she was compassionate like that. But there was nothing but silence, something that didn't quite agree with the woman. Coming to a similar conclusion, the Doctor continued to call out for her. "Donna? Donna!"

After looking throughout the villa for our ginger companion, I decided to put an end to it all and ask Evelina. The two were together for the most part, mainly due to Donna wanting to stay with the young girl. She was worried for the younger girl, and it made me understand something about our companion. Donna was someone who cared about others, it's her first instinct (after yelling at the world) and it was something I adored about her. I saw some of it with the Ood, but knowing she was genuinely worried about people and beings she didn't know, it made her constant nagging about saving the people of Pompeii annoying but understandable. She just wanted people to be safe, especially with the picture the Doctor practically painted of himself- Doctor for the Universe.

At first, Evelina denied knowledge of Donna's whereabouts, but after a while she finally caved and the Doctor and I were quick to rescue our friend. Reaching the temple, the Doctor and I snuck in and found Donna tied down to an altar. Just as the woman went to plunge the dagger into Donna, the Doctor and I made our presence known, more so he did. "Oh, that'll be the day."

"No man is allowed to enter the Temple of Sibyl."

"Well, that's all right. Just us girls." I stifled a chuckle as I moved to Donna. "Do you know, we met the Sibyl once. Yeah, hell of a woman. Blimey, she could dance the Tarantella. Nice teeth. Truth be told, I think she had a bit of a thing for me."

"She did," I interjected.

He glanced at me, a slight smirk on his lips before returning his attention back to the women. Of course he knew the woman had a thong for him. Who didn't? "I said it would never last. She said, I know. Well, she would. You all right there?" The Doctor stood next to me, glancing down at Donna with the sonic in hand.

"Oh, never better."

"I like the toga."

"Thank you. And the ropes?"

"Not really," I replied, pulling the Doctor's sonic from his hand and releasing our friend. "Definitely looks better without the ropes."

"What sort of magic is this?" I rolled my eyes as the questioning priestess, not really caring to answer her. She almost murdered Donna and with that, it, she was nothing to me, a random face who was nowhere near important.

"Let me tell you about the Sibyl, the founder of this religion. She would be ashamed of you. All her wisdom and insight turned sour. Is that how you spread the word, eh? On the blade of a knife?"

"Yes, a knife that welcomes you" a woman spat. Giving her my harshest glare, I felt some satisfaction when she seemingly flinched and inched away from me.

Before the Doctor or I could say a thing, a raspy voice spoke through. "Show me this strange man and woman."

"High Priestess, these strangers will defile us."

"Let me see. These two are different. They carry starlight in their wake."

"Oh, very perceptive. Where do these words of wisdom come from?" He was intrigued. Well, I was too. The words said by the priestess were not hers and whoever they belonged to had knowledge that expanded beyond Earth.

"The gods whisper to me."

"They've obviously done much more than that. Might we beg audience? Look upon the High Priestess?"

Seeming to get a response, two of the sisters drew the veil to show that the person we were speaking to, the High Priestess, was nothing but living stone. It was peculiar and interesting, especially considering we hadn't seen such a transformation in years. The fact that the woman was completely stone caused me to wonder what had taken over her, what was inside her, what they'd all been consuming. "Oh my god. What's happened to you?"

"The heavens have blessed me."

The Doctor and I stepped forward, ignoring the wary glances of the sisters. Honestly, they were the least of our worries. "If I might?" The High Priestess held out her arm for the Doctor to inspect. He gently grasped it and looked it over. "Does it hurt?"

"It is necessary." While she was a victim of her time, I was in awe of the woman. While most would have complained about the immense pain, she just took it, seeing it a necessity. Other than the sheer idiocy of them inhaling the vapours, she seemed to be quite a strong woman.

"And who exactly said that?" I questioned.

"The voices."

"Is that what's going to happen to Evelina? Is this what's going to happen to all of you?" The woman who had almost killed her showed Donna her forearm, revealing that it was too was stone.

"The blessings are manifold."

"They're stone."

"Exactly. The people of Pompeii are turning into stone before the volcano erupts. But why?" the Doctor mused.

"This word, this image in your mind. This 'volcano', what is it?"

Ignoring her question, the Doctor began to prattle on. "More to the point, why don't you know about it? Who are you?"

"High Priestess of the Sibylline."

"No," I crossed my arms and leant against the stone alter that once held Donna, "he's speaking to the creature inside of you."

"It's seeding itself into a human body, in the dust, in the lungs, taking over the flesh and turning it into… what?"

"Your knowledge is impossible."

"Oh, but you can read our minds. You know it's not. I demand you tell us who you are."

Suddenly the High Priestess began to speak, not in just her own voice, but with the voice of another. It was deeper and soon, it took over completely. "We are awakening."

"The voice of the gods."

"Words of wisdom, words of power. Words of wisdom, words of power. Words of wisdom-" the sisters chanted in unison. Truth be told, if I were anyone else, or ignorant of the times, I'd probably be quite frightened.

"Name yourself. Planet of origin. Galactic coordinates. Species designation according to the universal ratification of the Shadow Proclamation."

"We are rising."

"Tell us your name!"

"Pyrovile!" With its name revealed, the sisters began to chant much to my discontent.

"What's a Pyrovile?"

"Well, that's a Pyrovile, growing inside her. She's at the halfway stage."

"What, and that turns into?"

"You saw it at the villa. That was an adult," I hastily explained to the ginger.

"And the breath of a Pyrovile will incinerate you, Doctor."

"I warn you, I'm armed," he said after producing a yellow water pistol. I rolled my eyes at him before grabbing onto Donna's arm and pulling her behind the Doctor and towards the hypocaust grill. Moments like these made me quite happy there usually was an escape route. "Donna, Rys, get that grill open."

"Already on it, dear," I replied, cutting off Donna's question as I began to work on the grill, with the help of Donna of course.

"Just-" He held his hand up, getting the Pyrovile to stop speaking for a moment. "What are the Pyrovile doing here?"

"We fell from the heavens. We fell, so far and so fast, we were rendered into dust."

I stopped what I was doing and shared a quick glance with the Doctor. "Makes sense, creatures made of stone shattering on impact. But that was what, seventeen years ago?"

"We have slept beneath for thousands of years."

"Okay, so seventeen years ago woke you up, and now you're using human bodies to reconstitute yourselves. But why the psychic powers?"

"We opened their minds and found such gifts."

"Okay, that's fine. So you force yourself inside a human brain, use the latent psychic talent to bond. I get that, I get that, yeah. But seeing the future? That is way beyond psychic. You can see through time. Where does the gift of prophecy come from?"

"Donna, seriously, you have to get down there."

Her head whipped to me and her eyes were wide. "What, down there?"

"Yes! Go on. Why can't they predict a volcano, though? Is it being hidden?"

"Sisters, I see into his mind. The weapon is harmless."

"Yeah, but it's got to sting." With that said, he squirted water at the High Priestess who scream out in pain. As the women were distracted, I jumped down and made my way forward, waiting for the two to join me. Finally, the Doctor and Donna finally entered the hypocaust and I began to lead the way.

"You fought her with a water pistol. I bloody love you."

"Come on," I urged, wanting to get as far away from the temple as possible.

"Where are we going now?"

"Into the volcano."

"No way."

"Yes, way. Appian way."

As we made our way through the hypocaust, the Doctor was doing his best to explain things to Donna. Although we had slightly explained fixed points in time, she really didn't seem to understand that we couldn't do anything to prevent this, that Vesuvius was supposed to erupt and those people had to die. It was quite irritating to me that she was so intent on saving people who were meant to die, but I still understood WHY she wanted to, no one liked to watch the demise of those that could be saved.

"But if it's aliens setting off the volcano, doesn't that make it all right for you to stop it?" I could see what she meant. We did go around saving Earth from malevolent beings.

"Still part of history."

"But I'm history to you. You saved me in 2008. You saved us all. Why is that different?"

"Because some things are fixed and others aren't. Pompeii is."

"How do you know which is which?"

"Because that's how we see the universe. Every waking second, we can see what is, what was, what could be, what must not. That's the burden of a Time Lord, Donna. And we're the only ones left."

"How many people died?"

"Stop it."

"Doctor, how many people?"

"Twenty thousand," I angrily snapped, turning and glaring at the ginger woman. Donna met my gaze evenly, although it was downcast. Her question sent pangs through my hearts. All twenty thousand people die, children included. The thought killed me, knowing there was really nothing we could actually do, that we couldn't save anyone, not really. It reminded me so much of the war, even if the circumstances were different.

"Is that what you can see? All twenty thousand? And you think that's all right, do you?" Before either of us could answer, a roar rang through the tunnel.

"They know we're here. Come on."

We continued through the tunnel in silence for a while longer before we finally reached a large cavern. As we came to a full stand, we saw that the area was full of Pyroviles. Most were working, doing whatever they needed to put their plan into action. "It's the heart of Vesuvius. We're right inside the mountain."

"There's tons of them."

"What that thing?" He pulled out a monocular and looked through it, showing me through his mind some distant construct.

"Oh, you better hurry up and think of something. Rocky fall's on its way."

"That's how they arrived. Or what's left of it. Escape pod? Prison ship? Gene bank?"

"But why do they need a volcano? Maybe it erupts and they launch themselves back into space or something?" Donna questioned. It was a valid point, and while she was wrong, it was great to see that she was using her brain. She always said she was nothing but a temp, but in the moment, she was so much more than that.

"Oh, it's worse than that."

"How could it be worse?" We were both quiet as we continued to scope out the area. Both of us were working overtime in order to figure things out, to come up with a way to stop the Pyroviles. "Doctor, Rys, it's getting closer."

Lucius' voice then rung out throughout the cavern. The three of us looked up, and saw him standing on a ridge on the cavern's other side. "Heathens defile us. They would desecrate your temple, my lord gods."

"Come on."

"We can't go in." As Donna argued with him, and Lucius continued his rant, I rushed to the pod, ignoring what the Doctor said in reply, and just narrowly escaping being crushed by a Pyrovile. The Doctor and Donna quickly gained on me, reaching the pod only mere seconds after I did. As they did, the Doctor said a few things pertaining to my impulsiveness and recklessness, making it clear he did not appreciate the dual heart attacks I nearly gave him.

"There's nowhere to run, Doctor, Rys, and daughter of London."

"Now then, Lucius. My lords Pyrovillian, don't get yourselves in a lava." When no one laughed, the Doctor turned to Donna and me. "In a lava?" Donna shook her head while I groaned and did a double face palm. Goodness, the man was just horrible when he attempted to be funny. Honestly, it hurt. "No?" His smile faltered a bit before he grew serious. "No. But if I beg the wisdom of the gods before we perish. Once this new race of creatures is complete, then what?"

"My masters will follow the example of Rome itself. An almighty empire, bestriding the whole of civilisation."

"But if you've crashed, and you've got all this technology, why don't you just go home?" That was a really good question, Donna. Honestly, while I loved having Martha along, Donna was asking all the right questions, even if her badgering was quite annoying.

"The Heaven of Pyrovillia is gone." That made no sense. Well, it did but I'm sure the Doctor and I would have heard about a planet going missing. Our travels often brought us around other species, well at least when we left Earth. But the point still stood, we would- should have known something about it.

"What do you mean, gone? Where's it gone?"

"It was taken. Pyrovillia is lost. But there is heat enough in this world for a new species to rise."

"Well, it's seventy percent water out there."

"Water can boil. And everything will burn, Rys."

"Then the whole planet is at stake. Thank you. That's all we needed to know. Donna. Rys." He was right. While there were some apprehensions, with the knowledge that Earth was going to be destroyed, it made the initial plan a bit more bearable. We were willing to sacrifice the few for the many, a decision that hurt, but it was for the greater good.

The three of us entered the pod, a tight fight to be honest. The interior of the pod contained circuit boards on the end nearest to the door. Using the sonic screwdriver, the Doctor closed the door and locked it. I glanced around, looking for a way to make myself useful and speed up the process of what we were about to do.

"Could we be any more trapped?" Donna complained, as per usual. Suddenly the temperature in the pod seemed to increase. Well, the time until the eruption was growing closer. "Little bit hot." I decided to ignore her, looking at the controls with the Doctor.

"See?" The Doctor pointed to an area of circuitry. "The energy converter takes the lava, uses the power to create a fusion matrix, which welds Pyrovile to human. Now it's complete, they can convert millions."

"But can't you change it with these controls?"

"Yes, but don't you see?" I asked the woman who shook her head in confusion.

"That's why the soothsayers can't see the volcano. There is no volcano. Vesuvius is never going to erupt. The Pyrovile are stealing all its power. They're going to use it to take over the world."

"But you can change it back?"

"We can invert the system, set off the volcano, and blow them up, yes. But, that's the choice, Donna. It's Pompeii or the world."

"Oh my God." Her expression was horror-stricken as she realised what the stakes were. It wasn't something that we wanted her to witness, but there was nothing we could currently do about it.

"Now you're getting it," I muttered. The Doctor's hand grabbed mine and gave it a comforting squeeze. While I hadn't been there when Gallifrey was lost, I could feel his emotions and hear his thoughts. He was beginning to compare Pompeii to Gallifrey and it pained me to know that he was going through that, that although I had no way of really knowing exactly what he was going through, I knew it was nothing good, that he would end up having nightmares when he fell asleep. "If Pompeii is destroyed then it's not just history, it's us. We make it happen."

"No, just me."

I quickly faced him, anger clearly written on my face from the way he flinched. "No Doctor, US. Together or not at all."

"I'm not letting you do this, Rys. I can't let you go through that."

Sighing, I place a hand on his cheek. "Doctor, I refuse to let you do this alone. You're my husband and before that, my Ame Soeur. I know what you're thinking and I don't want you doing this, not alone. I hate that you're in this position again, but this time, I'm here. You don't have to do this alone because, you AREN'T alone. I will never let you go through that alone, not again." Closing my eyes, I took a shaky breath, opening them when I felt the Doctor's thumb against my cheek. Meeting his gaze, I pulled away and turned to Donna, apologising for ignoring her. She shrugged and began to fan herself. The temperature was drastically increasing.

"The Pyrovile are made of rocks. Maybe they can't be blown up."

Knowing that he had pushed his emotions back, the Doctor jumped back into the action. It was something that would eventually get to him. If I knew him as well as I did, he'd probably disappear for a few hours once we got back to the Tardis. "Vesuvius explodes with the force of twenty four nuclear bombs. Nothing can survive it. Certainly not us."

"Never mind us."

"Push this lever and it's over. Twenty thousand people." He placed his hand on the stone lever and without hesitation, I placed mine atop his, his free arm wrapping around my waist and pulling me close. Donna placed her on top of mine and with one glance at each other, the three of us pushed the lever down. A few seconds later, the volcano erupted blasting the pod straight into the air. As we lost speed and the pod fell, the Doctor and I clung to one another as Donna screamed at the top of her lungs.

When the pod finally landed, we quickly made our way out of it. Honestly, I was surprised we were alive. "It was an escape pod."

"Yes, we've experienced it. Now run!" Taking my order the three of us raced down the mountain as ash rolled towards us. The smoke from the eruption had blocked out the sun making it seem as if it were the middle of night. Finally making it to town, we rushed through all the chaos as we manoeuvred through the Pompeii streets.

As the ash fell, Donna tried to help the people and get them to safety. II completely understood her desire to help, but it also seemed as if she didn't truly understand that majority of the people could not be saved. Twenty thousand people had to perish. The facts had to remain the same. "Don't. Don't go to the beach. Don't go to the beach, go to the hills. Listen to me. Don't go to the beach, it's not safe. Listen to me." I stopped dead in my tracks as I saw a little boy standing in the middle of the street bawling his eyes out. I couldn't help but think of the children of Gallifrey, the children of Arcadia. "Come here," Donna said, picking the child up. Not a moment later, a woman, most likely the boy's mother, snatched him from Donna's arms and ran off. The Doctor grabbed hold of both her arm and my hand and dragged us along. I let him, knowing that there was no way I would be able to move on my own after seeing that young boy, knowing that he would most likely die without being able to live his life.

Minutes later, we reached Caecilius' villa to find the family cowering in a corner. Upon seeing us, the man called out to us, begging us to help him and his family. "Gods save us, Doctor." The Doctor continued to drag me and Donna along. I couldn't keep my eyes off the family. They reminded me so much of how I was during the war, when I had tried my damned hardest to keep my children safe.

The more I kept my gaze on them, the more I saw the lines of time that surrounded them, that their fate was one that was in flux. They could be saved. They could live. As I came to the realisation, I heard Donna's voice and the Tardis engines start. My eyes widened as I felt his emotions full force. They crushed me to the point I began sobbing. There was so much pain, so much guilt. He had to save someone. He had to save Caecilius. They were meant to live and while it wouldn't take away the pain, it would still be a victory, small, but a victory nonetheless.

"You can't just leave them!"

'Theta…'

He ignored my call. "Don't you think I've done enough?" He snapped. "History's back in place and everyone dies." I froze, the weight of his words angering me. What the hell had gotten into him. No, I knew what it was, but the fact that he'd said that... That wasn't my Doctor. That wasn't my Theta.

Steadying my tear thickened voice, I tried once again to get his attention. "Doctor."

"You've got to go back. Doctor, I am telling you, take this thing back. It's not fair."

"No, it's not."

"But your own planet. It burned."

"That's just it. Don't you see, Donna? Can't you understand? If I could go back and save them, then I would. But I can't. I can never go back. I can't. I just can't, I can't." Of course she couldn't understand, not what he was feeling. I could, but it was only through him. I knew he was heading into a downward spiral due to his guilt. He needed something to bring him back.

As his gaze hardened at his words, I tried again, this time speaking in Gallifreyan. "Theta. Please, you have to go back. Caecillius and his family, their fate is in flux. We can save them." I knew it was a cheap shot, but I knew it needed to be said. "Is this the kind of man you want Kie to know you as? One who leaves people to die? You have to go back. please Theta. Please go back and save them."

"Just someone. Please. Not the whole town. Just save someone." He glanced from Donna to me before sighing and bringing the Tardis back to Caecillius' villa.

As I sat on the captain's chair pulling myself together, the Doctor stepped out of the Tardis and a few seconds later, Caecillius' family were with us. Immediately the Doctor had started up the engines again. A while later, the seven of us stood on a hillside, watching as Pompeii was filled with volcanic ash and destroyed. I stood by the Doctor who had his arms wrapped around my waist. My expression was blank but I knew that he knew exactly how I felt, how distraught I was and just how much I wanted to crawl into our bed and cry until there were no more tears. Although, before I did that, I wanted- no needed- to see Kie. I had to make sure he was all right. I had to have him in my arms, no matter how much he'd protest. I just needed to have my baby with me.

"It's never forgotten, Caecilius. Oh, time will pass, men'll move on, and stories will fade. But one day, Pompeii will be found again. In thousands of years. And everyone will remember you," the Doctor said after a few minutes, jolting me from my thoughts.

"What about you, Evelina?" Donna queried. "Can you see anything?"

"The visions have gone."

"The explosion was so powerful it cracked open a rift in time, just for a second. That's what gave you the gift of prophecy. It echoed back into the Pyrovillian alternative. But not anymore. You're free."

Metella turned to us. "But tell me. Who are you, Doctor? With your words, and your temple containing such size within?"

"Oh, we were never here. Don't tell anyone."

"The great god Vulcan must be enraged. It's so volcanic. It's like some sort of volcano. All those people," Caecillius sadly spout out.

With one last look at Pompeii, the Doctor, Donna, and I slipped back into the Tardis. While the Doctor put the Tardis in space, Donna and I went off to our rooms. Once in the Doctor's room, I went to bathe. An hour later, I left the bathroom to find the Doctor sitting on the bed, a blank expression on his face. He had blocked off his thoughts but his emotions rang clear, although it was hard to tell where his ended and mine began. The fact that the emotional bond had begun to reassert itself had yet to come to his realisation. I went and sat beside him, immediately pulling his head to my chest. Not even a minute later, he began to bawl. As he did so, I held him, keeping my own tears at bay. I needed to be strong for him. He was always my rock and it was time for me to be his.

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_7/09/2015_

_Hey guys. So, I realised that within this episode, I might have made it seem like I don't like Donna. Truth be told, I love the woman. For me, her constant nagging for the Doctor to save people, it was annoying. Now, I know she's there because she is SO very human, but if she saw it from the Doctor's eyes, maybe she wouldn't have done so much to push him. But yeah, that's why it seemed that way. But don't worry. There's no Donna hate here. I was just trying to get that across. (I definitely felt the need to repeat this. Sorry guys.) I hope you enjoyed the chapter otherwise. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favourited the story. I love seeing the emails. Now then, onto the reviews! _

_**NicoleR85:** So happy you enjoyed the chapter. _

_**Squidtastic:** How was your first day of school? Glad to hear the previous chapter was able to drag your mind away from that. _

_**margie-me:** So glad you got the point I was trying to get across. Yep, Donna is definitely stubborn in the case of this adventure. One thing that I do love about her character though is the fact that after this adventure, she seems to grasp that some things affect the Doctor differently and that there's just some things he can and can't do. I'm quite happy that you enjoyed the chapter. _

_**tardiscompanion101:** Definitely. We all know how Donna is around couples. Besides, she's caught the two in one two many compromising positions, which was the real reason for the rule. She knows what the kissing leads to. I liked this episode as well, although now it's more so because Amy and 12 were in it and the Doctor saved them._

* * *

**Okay, so I've finished editing the first four chapters of this story. To finish nine off, I'll be working on it for the next week or two. This means I most likely won't be posting until the end of the month (I like to have a few chapters finished before posting one. Sorry about this guys, but I'm seeing a lot of contradicting things in the story and Cerys doesn't really add up to my notes in here. With that said, I won't be on here for a while and I swear I'll post once I finish up Part One of the story. **


	64. Author's Note

Hey guys. So I know this isn't an update but I just wanted to let you know why I haven't updated in awhile. I started up a new job and have been working 40+ hours a week. In addition to that, I'm trying to get some other media things together. In layman's terms, I've been incredibly busy these past few months, hence why I haven't updated since October. I am still working on Her Secrets though. I'm just about done editing my chapters so there will be a few changes in the story. I'm really sorry this isn't an update and that I haven't done so in FOREVER, but I promise I'll have something up within the next few weeks.

-Marvel'sWhovian


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